A Fake Hero
by Ray O'Neill
Summary: This isn't the story of a boy who dreamed of becoming a hero of justice. That's someone else's story. This is the story of a boy who simply wished to protect his family and loved ones... but it came at a heavy price... one that I later came to regret. Everything changed when I accepted that offer... and shouted those two words.
1. For one's family

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD** **, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _Life..._

 _Life is a really strange and unpredictable thing... you can never guess what it may suddenly decide to throw at you._

 _I sometimes think about the good old days, those quiet and peaceful days that I spent together with my family, unaware to what was truly going on in the world I lived in. Those days... are now nothing but a bittersweet memory._

 _Why you may ask?_

 _When a person truly cares for a friend, a family member or maybe a lover, he would do anything in his power to make sure that no harm shall happen to them... even if that may cost him his very humanity in the process._

 _This isn't the story of a boy who dreamed of becoming a hero of justice._

 _That's someone else's story._

 _This is the story of a boy who simply wished to protect his family and loved ones... but it came at a heavy price... one that I later came to regret._

 _Everything changed when I accepted that offer... and shouted those two words_.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: For one's family.**

* * *

 _Warm._

My face feels warm.

My eyes twitched slightly as I opened them, but I immediately shut them back as the light was too powerful. Opening them, slower this time, I was greeted by the warm light of a brand new day that found itself in my room through the window. I got up from my bed, scratching the back of my head and took a look in the nearby mirror. Even though my vision is bit shaggy from just getting up, I could still see how messy my hair was this morning.

Yawning tiredly I made my way towards the bathroom. If there was one thing that I needed right now was a nice cold shower to properly wake me up from my semi-awoke state i'm in.

I made my way and quietly entered the bathroom. Inside, I was greeted by the form of a woman. It's Sella, my caretaker... who was apparently sitting in front of the sink... wearing only a towel around her slender body, which seemed to glister from the bullets of water that were covering her...

 _Oh shit._

My mouth almost hit the floor from how much it was hanging. Sella's face went red, which was really accentuated considering how fair her skin is.

I tried to think of a way to apologize before I get my head bashed into a wall... again... by my rather prone to violence caretaker. ''M-Morning S-Sella...'' I muttered, my voice sounded a bit cracked and embarrassed. Of course...me being me, I ended up saying something else then what I thought.

I took a good look at her face... Sella wasn't mad... not at all... she was _super mad_.

''YOU PERVERT!'' her scream could probably be heard throughout the entire neighborhood... though it wasn't the first time.

* * *

Next thing I knew I was in the kitchen enjoying my breakfast... the food could use a bit more salt though. I stopped munching when I heard someone else enter the kitchen.

''Guten morgen.'' I was casually greeted in German by my other caretaker, Leysritt or Liz, as I and the other house members call her.

''Morning Liz.'' I replied tiredly, my face still feeling sore from the previous encounter with Sella.

''Shirou, what happened to your nose?'' she asked stoic as she starred intensely at the bandage over my nose.

I was personally wondering if I should tell her that Sella roundhouse kicked me in the middle of my face, so hard that my silhouette got imprinted in the bathroom wall... I dropped that idea since I knew that mentioning the fact that I saw Sella almost naked would result with another beating from the mentioned lady, so I decided to keep it to myself. ''... Nothing happened.'' I replied with a tired and rather dreadful tone.

Liz just nodded and took a nearby seat, as chill as always. Sometimes I find it really hard to believe that Sella and Liz are actually sisters. While it was obvious by their looks, their personalities were as different as night and day. Sella on one hand has a very strict and serious personality, while Liz is very easy going and carefree.

I sometimes wish I could get along with Sella the same way I get with Liz. While I do get along with Sella, but she tends to be rather strict with me.

I heard some running sounds on the stairs. There's only one person who runs like that. ''Morning~!'' we were greeted by my cheerful step-mom as she entered the room and took a seat at the table. Her eyes immediately landed on me. ''My, my, Shirou did you have another morning accident with Sella?'' she asked me in a teasing voice as she saw the state my face was.

Irisviel, or Iri as dad and I call her is my adoptive mom. I can somewhat understand why my dad fell in love with her, she is probably one of the most beautiful women I will ever see in my life. The only thing I sometimes get headaches from is her rather childish and quirky personality... that and her daily teasing. ''N-No...'' I muttered while avoiding eye contact. If there is one thing I can't stand is teasing... especially by my step-mom.

Iri immediately saw my reaction, a smirk forming on her lips, a smirk that made me want to run away... but for some reason her eyes were all set on Sella instead of me. ''Hooo~ Sella you won't find a boyfriend if you treat men like you treat poor Shirou.''

Those words struck Sella really hard, she flinched as if like an imaginary knife stabbed her. While her face didn't show too much reaction, the glass that she was washing shattered in her hand. ''I-I'm perfectly fine without a boyfriend.'' She commented with a tint of red in her cheeks... this was one of the many taboos of the house... reminding Sella that she doesn't have a boyfriend.

''You've been saying that for years Sella.'' Liz replied to her casually... stop adding more gas on the fire Liz.

I looked at Sella... I gulped... there was a throbbing vein in her forehead... something akin to a dark aura began surrounding her body. ''Shut. Up. Liz.'' She growled back at her sister... Sella may not be able to stand up against Iri, who is the self-proclaimed God of this house, but there's no way in hell that Sella will stand and let Liz talk shit about her.

I sighed, just your typical morning at the Emiya/Einzbern household. I noticed that there were some people missing at the table. Excluding dad who is always away with work, there were two particular people that were missing. ''Say I wanted to ask, where's Illya and Miyu?'' I asked Iri. Normally my little sister and cousin were up by now. But then again, Miyu doesn't constantly live with us, but rather she stays over here when her mom Maiya, who is somewhat of an aunt to me and Illya, is gone on business trips with my dad.

I could swear I just saw something like a small spark appear in Iri's eye... I know that look... ''Oh is Shirou-chan missing his little sister and cousin, how cute.'' she told me in a teasing voice... I swear she's having way too much fun for her age.

Sella sighed, something tells me that I wasn't the only one feeling tired from Iri's teasing. ''The two of them left earlier to meet up with their classmates.''

''Oh I see.'' I nodded as I took a bite of my fish, hoping that this will temporary put an end to Iri and her shenanigans.

We all stopped eating when we heard the doorbell. Sella was the one who went and see who it was. When she returned she had number of envelopes in her hand, must have been the mailman. She started to shuffle through them, but she stopped and narrowed her eyes on a particular one. ''Shirou, you have a letter.''

''Letter?'' I asked confused as I took the letter from Sella. Just who would sent me a letter?

I eagerly opened it, inside I found a piece of paper and began reading its contents.

 _ **''A key to awakening a miracle... for those who desire it.''**_

I closed the letter as my left eye twitched badly. I was wondering what kind of weird joke this is supposed to be...

I decided to roll with the joke and check the contents of the envelop. Inside I found a card that resembled an old overused tarot card, but it had one main problem. ''... Just a blank card?'' I muttered as I narrowed my eyes on it... yep just a white tarot card. The backside had a design similar to that of tarot card, but the side that was supposed to have a picture was whiter than my mother's hair. ''Ok this must be one of the weirdest prank's I've ever seen.'' I deduced as put the card in my pocket.

Iri, ignoring my confusion took a look at her watch and immediately clapped her hands in surprise. ''Ara Shirou~! Look at the time. You will be late for school if you don't hurry. Want mama to give you a ride in her car?'' she chirped bubbly.

Those two words... Iri and car... those two words made me and everyone present shiver in fear... there are some things in this world that must never meet or be mixed together... water and electricity... bleach and ammonia... alcohol and pills... but among all, Iri must never be put in a driver's seat... period. ''N-No i-its ok, I will run to school.'' I muttered slowly, trying to not literally scream in fear like a little girl.

Iri tilted her head slightly and put a finger on her lower lip in confusion... how can a woman her age make such a cute face is beyond me. ''Why would you do that when I can just drive you there?'' she asked innocently.

The dread just went up a few ranks for me, I could feel the bullets of sweat forming on my face. ''Y-You don't have to bother yourself.'' I tried to desperately try and make her change her mind.

''It's no big deal.'' She chirped happily... I don't have a mirror to check, but something tells me that my face probably just went from pale to a rather bluish color. My eyes drifted towards Liz and Sella, I didn't know how my face looked, but I could only speculate it's something similar to a puppy who is about to be sent to the pound.

Iri seemed to find my reaction rather confusing as she put her index finger over her chin and began making a thinking sound. She straightened her pose and tapped her palm with her fist in a realization way, a small blush taking over her face. ''Ohh, are you perhaps embarrassed to be seen by your classmates with your young and gorgeous mother?'' she deduced merrily.

...

I can't help but wonder what was odder. My stepmother's logic or the fact that I managed to resist the urge to face palm myself.

''Madam, you won't be able to drive him since you have an appointment in exactly 15 minutes.'' Sella explained calmly. To my luck and surprise, salvation came from the last person I was expecting.

Iri looked at her for a few seconds, blinking confused, the realization hit her shortly. ''Ohhh! I completely forgot! Thanks Sella!'' She stormed out the room, leaving an imaginary trail of dust behind her.

I let out a relaxed sigh. Sella... I would hug you right now... but I won't, since you would break my bones afterwards.

I took a look at my watch... now I was really running late. I jumped out of my seat, grabbed my backpack and began running towards school. ''Gotta hurry!'' I told myself as I ran through the neighborhood. Man if I'm late Kuzuki-sensei won't be happy... not that he is happy any other situation.

I was quickly approaching the school gates. The moment I was near the gates I began hearing some screams. The kind you hear when a girl catches a man peeking on them when they change. I entered the school grounds and my suspicions were confirmed. In the distance I could see the girls of the kendo club, armed with their respective wooden swords running after our schools famous or more precisely infamous 'Perverted-trio'.

Yep, just a common occurrence at our school... though I can't help but wonder why those three haven't been suspended for their actions... I mean once or twice they may get away with it, but I lost count on how many times they were caught peeping... either someone with a high position in our school is backing them up or they have some kind of perverted deity watching over them. While i don't have any personal grudge against them, I don't enjoy seeing them peep around.

That aside... I can't help but feel sorry for them... I mean, I am a guy going through puberty like they are, but I don't go around peeping on women. Thank God I didn't get to friendly with them when I first started school here... I might have turned into a pervert as well...

Oh, would you look at that... they caught them... ouch... I know that they were peeking but still... do the girls really need to hit them that hard below the belt... it hurts just to look at them... well on a side note, they are lucky that the girls didn't use Fujimura-sensei's Tora-shinai... I swear there's something wrong about her tiger stripped wooden sword... it's like its cursed or something... wonder how the members of the kendo club can't notice the dark and scary aura that their club advisor's weapon of choice gives off.

I made my way to my class. Pretty normal... Kiba-san is getting a lot of attention from our female classmates, while Saji-san and most of the guys are giving him death glares... I wonder why?

* * *

Half of the day went by like they always do. Boring classes, classmates arguing, teachers complaining about the declining rate of student's morals and so on.

Right now I was enjoying a quiet lunch in the cafeteria... When I ran to school I acutally forgot my lunch on the kitchen table...

''Hi there Emiya.'' A girlish voice greeted me... well there goes my peace and quiet.

I turned my head towards the person and saw who it was. ''Oh, Mitsuzuri.'' I greeted her casually.

Mitsuzuri Ayako. My friend and the captain of the archery club, a rather tomboyish, but an overall nice girl.

She sat down in front of me, which allowed me to take a look in her tray. I couldn't help but wonder if all sport girls eat the same amount as her. I mean come on, what kind of high school girl eats curry rice, miso soup, pork ramen and sandwiches at one meal and has a figure like her?

Mitsuzuri stared at me, more particularly my face, she gave me a rather surprised look. ''Wow, who did that number on your nose?'' she asked, her face painted with curiosity.

I sighed... I really hated when I had to explain my 'accidental wounds'... it's really embarrassing. ''No one dangerous.'' I answered dryly, I wasn't technically lying, since Sella can't be considered a dangerous person... at least for most people besides me.

She narrowed her eyes and gave me something that I could only describe as a devilish smile. ''I see, Sella-san huh?''

I almost chocked on the rice I he was eating. ''H-How did you know?''

She closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders tiredly. ''I honestly lost count on how many times she clobbered you.''

I could feel my cheeks burn as I averted my gaze. ''Hey, it's not like I'm doing something to deserve getting my face beaten.''

Her smile increased a few inches as she stared at me. ''Really? So those 'accidents' you keep having are unintentional?''

I wanted to find a hole and bury my head in it. The famous 'accidents of Emiya Shirou'... some people wonder if some kind of higher plane being had cursed me or if I'm just straight out unlucky... after all how could a guy always get in situations when he ends up touching, feeling and groping the intimate parts of a girl the way I do?... though from what i heard there are a lot of guys who are jealous of me... I wonder why?

''O-Of course it is.'' I muttered, I could feel my face getting flushed.

Mitsuzuri on the other hand was displaying a 'You don't say?' smile. ''So you take no pleasure what so ever when they happen?''

I hate teasing... I really hate it. ''O-Of course I don't...'' I muttered bashfully... though I had to admit there were some times when I actually did enjoy... oh come on, I'm a healthy male high school student!

Her smile faded and she just sighed. ''Now that's disappointing...''

I blinked a few times, not understanding what she meant. ''Huh?''

''Nothing. '' she replied as she continued to dig in her food.

Girls sure are weird sometimes. I tried to get back to my food, but I felt an intense stare fixed on me. I look back at Mitsuzuri and her eyes were locked onto to me, all her cheerfulness from a few moments ago vanished, and was replaced by a very serious look. ''Say Shirou...'' she began, my sense all were on the edge when I heard her call my given name.

It may not seem like a big deal, but the only times Mitsuzuri called me by it was when I did something seriously stupid or if I am in trouble... hope it's the first.

''You know, I've been meaning to ask you... Are you ever gonna return to the Archery club?'' she asked me, her voice filled with concern...

I took a second and thought about it. ''I'm not sure...'' I told her honestly... I was part of the Archery club in my first year of high school, but I gave up on it when I began my second year...

''Look, I know maybe you don't feel like you have anything to learn since you always score a perfect hit no matter the situation, but you could try and do it to have fun with the other members.'' She told me softly.

Yeah... I didn't give up because I couldn't learn or didn't have talent for it, I gave up since I didn't have anything left to learn... I may have missed the first one or two shots, but after I learned how to do it I never missed the target, no matter what, I always hit it...

I guess I didn't have anything to keep me there... I don't know if returning would change anything, but I honestly don't know what I want. I don't want to lie to her... but... ''Maybe I'll give it a thought.''

''Try and think about it. I'm not necessarily telling you this because you're good at it, but try to have some fun. I mean you don't seem to have any desire for anything. '' She smiled gently at me... but it was a smile filed with concern... was I really making her worry about me without realizing it?

I couldn't help but feel rather awkward. Now that i think about it, Mitsuzuri did seem rather distant with me after I left the club... she must have been upset that I just left like that. My hand instinctively reaching to the back of my head and I began scratching my hair. ''Man, if I'm getting pity from a classmate, it must be really bad.'' I admitted with a dry chuckle to my old friend.

''You know Emiya,'' she began, our eyes were met... I didn't like the way she looked at me. ''I don't think I ever heard you laugh.''

My mind stopped. Her words struck me hard... my eyes widen slowly as I realized that she was right. ''In all the years that we've known each other there's wasn't even a single time when I saw you laugh... sometimes I think that when you smile, you just do it as a reflex rather than an honest smile.''

 _Her words_... I never thought about it... but... she is right... I actually don't remember the last time when I laughed... did I actually laugh since the _'incident'_?... my family tried to help get over my problems... but it was useless... I couldn't get treated... I know they care about me, and I also care about them, so it's because of that I tried to appear fine so they didn't have to worry because of me... I would smile and seem to be ok... but in truth... I was empty... No... I am still empty... without any sense of self.

''Look,'' she began again, breaking me out of my thoughts. ''If you ever feel the need to talk to someone I am always willing to listen.''

I wonder... just what did I do to deserve a friend like her... she is too good for me... but still... it feels somewhat reassuring to know that there's someone my age that I could talk to. ''Thanks... Ayako.'' I could feel the edges of my mouth curling upwards in a small smile... though it feels more bitter than happy.

* * *

The day went by... and classes were over. But unlike the other students, I had to stay over a little longer to get something done.

I knocked on the door of the student council room. I hear a 'Come in.' from inside and proceeded. When I entered I saw the president of the student council Sona Shitori-senpai, who seems to be busy doing paper work, as hard working as always. I took a look around the room as I walked in, now this is something new, usually there are more members of the student council in here, but right now there's only senpai.

''Oh Emiya-kun, you still haven't left?'' the short haired girl asked me curiously, straightening her glasses.

I waved my hand in denial and started searching in my backpack. ''I wanted to, but I had to give this back to you before I did.'' I told her as I took a book out of my backpack and place in front of her.

''You already read it?'' She gave me a curious look. ''Was this one more interesting than the previous one?''

I gave her a nod. ''Yeah... while I am not a fan of occult based stories, the plot line was really interesting, I really liked when the protagonist managed to save all his friends and loved ones.'' I elaborated to her. I don't know exactly when it happened, but I helped the student council with a few random things in the past and the girl in front of me gave me a book as a reward. Since then we kept exchanging books and comparing them, I think we are what people could call book friends.

''I was surprised as well. I would have never expected him to save them considering how the story line was going, but I guess I can't be unsatisfied with a happy ending.'' She told me, a very subtle almost microscopic smile on her lips, something very rare... most students call Shitori-senpai an Ice Queen that doesn't smile, I myself was a bit scared of her at first, but she is actually quite a nice company to have around once you get to know her... I think there was a word that described the kind of person she is... what was it called again?... kuudere?... or was it dandere?... I'll figure it later... also I must be sure never to call her either of those two slangs... something from back of my head is telling me I will regret it if I do it.

Getting off that thought, I got back to reality. ''Do you have anything new for me?'' I asked her eagerly, she always seems to find rare books that I have never heard of, but they're still interesting nevertheless.

She arranged her glasses and took a book out from her drawer, a rather old looking one. ''I think you will like this one, I noticed you have a thing for hero stories.'' She told me as she handed me the book.

''When should I bring it back?'' I asked her, I do actually know when to bring it back, but it doesn't hurt to confirm.

''Like always, when you're done reading it.'' She told me, I nodded. ''I found it quite interesting, I especially enjoyed when the main character-''

''Stop!'' I threw my hand forward and cut her off instantly. ''No spoilers!'' I told her firmly, I swear that stories lose their appeal when you know what will happen before you read it yourself.

''Oh, spoil my fun.'' She chuckled lightly, which was something as rare as a solar eclipse... I think that if some of the students heard that chuckle they would be running in mayhem screaming that the end is near.

I don't know how, but the next words slipped my lips. ''You know, I really can't understand Issei when he tells me that you're a shady person.'' I admitted, I just don't get the guy, whenever he hears that I talked to Shitori-senpai, he begins telling me that he feels a malevolent if not demonic aura around her. Now, how absurd is that?

''I presume you are referring to Issei Ryuudou, not Issei Hyoudou, am I correct?'' I nodded at her question, it was a bit confusing since those two have similar names. ''I don't want to gossip or randomly speculate, but I think that Ryuudou-kun is still bitter towards me for winning the elections last year with quite a difference of votes.'' She speculated... knowing Issei that's probably it... guess it's better that he transferred to a different school when we became second years... he always seem to have a hard time dealing with girls... and Kuoh Academy, my current school had quite a large female population.

I took a look at the clock on the wall... damn. ''Sorry Shitori-senpai, it's kinda late and I need to get home.'' I admitted, Sella did had a bit of a fixation about timing... that, and Illya would question me where I was... and of course Iri starts her own little scenarios that I was busy seducing girls... Thank God that at least Liz is normal, if she joined in with the others I highly doubt my sanity would still be intact.

''Have a nice day then.'' She waved her hand to as I left the room.

The school sure feels different when there aren't people around. When I reached the corner of the hall I bumped into something... or more precisely someone.

''Kyah!'' a girl yelled. I look down and saw who the person that I knocked down was. It was our schools so called idol, Rias Gremory-senpai.

Thank God that there aren't any students around. If the guys saw me that I pushed down their so called idol they would surely be after my skin. This is one of the many mysteries about women that I have a hard time comprehending, I mean 'Most students adore the very ground she walks on, without her doing anything besides looking good.' as Shitori-senpai quoted.

''S-Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you hurt?'' I apologized to the red haired girl, hoping that she didn't hurt herself when she fell.

She looked at me, she didn't seem to be angry, just a bit surprised. ''No, I am fine.'' She informed me as she got up and dusted her skirt. At least she isn't hurt.

Because I was so focused at her, I didn't notice that there was another girl behind her. For a second I thought I just saw Illya, but I was wrong, it's just a girl that really resembles her. Curiously she is carrying a cardboard box.

She was staring at me quite strongly... well I did technically push down her friend, so I can get why she seems rather annoyed. ''Are you alright Buchou?'' she asked her taller companion.

''Don't worry Koneko, I am fine. Though our materials don't seem as fine.'' She told her, but that didn't stop her white haired friend from staring at me. Was there something on my face or something?

I look down at my legs and noticed what Gremory-senpai was referring to. On the floor were scattered dozens of fliers with a type of circle on them, kinda like the ones you see in horror movies. Now that I notice them, I think that Gremory-senpai is the president of the occult research club, so it wouldn't be too far fetched for them to have occult looking stuff.

I then realized what happened. When I knocked down the red haired girl in front of me, I also made her drop her box, and the contents have spread over the floor. I kneeled and began picking them up. ''Sorry. I made a mess out of your stuff.'' I apologized.

''It no problem at all. Accidents do tend happen.'' She told me with an amused smile. If only this kind of accidents would happen less often for me everything would be fine.

''Y-Yeah.'' I let out a dry chuckle, well it was rather forced but still. ''Here you go senpai.'' I handed her the box with all the fliers.

She gave me a curios look. She took one the fliers and put it in my hand. ''Keep one. Perhaps it will help you one day.'' She told with a smile... weird... her smile seemed rather... what's the word... devilish?

The girl began walking, her much smaller friend following suit... that's all?

I was expecting something more... I don't know... violent?

...

Better stop thinking about it, before I manage to jinx myself. I shrugged my shoulders and put the flier in the right pocket of my pants.

* * *

The city sure is quiet around this hour, though it's a nice and peaceful most of the time, it sure is different from big cities like Tokyo were you can't find a quiet street.

As I walked I noticed someone in the distance, I couldn't really see his face very well because the sun was setting right behind him, so the light was making it a bit difficult to do so. As we both walked and got closer to each other I got the chance to take a better look at him. A boy, around my age if not a bit older, silver hair, blue eyes, nice casual clothes. Our eyes met. I raised my hand up high. ''Hey there Vali.'' I greeted him casually.

His eyes seemed to soften a little as he saw me. ''Oh... hey there Emiya.'' He greeted me with a shrug, his face painted with boredom as always.

''Going out to the ramen place again?'' I asked him, this was pretty much the interaction between us. We kept bumping in each other at a ramen stand down town, at first we would both mind our business, but after a while we started chatting to each other since we were both eating alone and it was kind of boring.

''Don't really have much of a choice in the matter. My old man can't cook to save his own skin.'' He told with a bored sigh. Oh yeah, now that I think about it, he did tell me that his so called guardian is a walking disaster in the kitchen, on one occasion he burned down the kitchen when he tried to boil some water for tea... reminds me of Kiritsugu to be honest... I respect my father figure more than anyone in the world, but for all that's holy and sacred in the world, Kiritsugu must never be allowed to enter a kitchen... thank God Sella and Iri banned him for life from the kitchen otherwise I think the house would have become ashes by now.

''You could always try and learn how to cook you know.'' I suggested to the silver haired boy, I mean even I learned how to cook, and I was far from talented when I first began.

''Yeah right.'' He chuckled as he began walking. ''See you around.'' You know... I can't help but wonder... even if he doesn't know how to cook or has some other excuse, that doesn't explain why he always goes to the same local diner... maybe it's just my imagination... but maybe, just maybe, he is just too proud to admit that he just likes ramen... perhaps I should ask him next time we meet there...

Wait...

Now that I think about... I don't even know Vali's family name... now I feel awkward.

* * *

''I'm home.'' I greeted as I entered my house... no answer... that means everyone is out... but the door was unlocked... let's see if there's someone in the kitchen. Yep I was right, Sella was in the kitchen and was washing the dishes.

''Welcome back.'' She greeted me as she placed one of the dishes in the dryer.

I took a look around and noticed the unusual silence in the house and couldn't help but wonder. ''Only you're home Sella?'' I asked her as I took a seat at the table.

''Can't you see that?'' she answered with a rather irritated tone, guess she didn't like to state the obvious.

I sighed, wondering why must Sella act so cold towards me when we're alone. ''... So where is everyone?''

''Liz took out Illya-san and Miyu-san to the park, also your mother is still at her appointment.'' She stated simply, her eyes never leaving the plate she was washing.

''I see... so it's just the two of us...'' I nodded to myself... well this sure is rare for me, only me and Sella. Even though I've known Sella for a long time, I can't really say that I know her that well. ''So how was your day Sella?'' I asked her a bit awkward, trying to do some small talk.

''As always.'' She replied uninterested.

Silence... a minute has passed... then 5... then 10... I could only sigh and change my attention to my glass of juice. Sella continued to wash the dishes, her eyes looking rather concentrated... my guess is that she is wondering what she should make for dinner later. While she was putting a dish on the dryer her body seemed to freeze. Is something wrong?

''N-No... it can't be!'' she muttered, her voice was shaking, her skin became even more paler than it was already was, and her face got covered in bullets of sweat.

I might not the brightest light in the room when it comes to reading people, but I do have enough of instinct to tell me that something was very wrong to cause Sella to freeze like that. ''Sella is something wrong?'' I asked her, the concern could be heard in my voice.

She looked directly in my eyes, her eyes were trembling, and her lips were quivering. She was scarred. She stood there silent for a few moments. ''Shirou...'' she bit her trembling lower lip. ''Get out of the house.'' She told me in a slow cold tone.

''Huh?'' I blinked confused, did I just hear her right?

''Get out now!'' she told me again, this time she shouted at me.

''W-Wait, what did I do?'' I got up from my seat in fear and confusion. I know I have a tendency to get under her nerves and do stupid things, but I didn't do anything this time, and if I did she would just smack the day light out of me, but she would never act like this.

She ran in front of me and grabbed me by the collar, trying to drag me away. ''Dammit Shirou go before it's too late!'' she told me harshly, just what in the world is going on...

''I'm afraid it's already too late.'' A new voice cut in our conversation in a calm manner.

Both Sella and I froze in place. We slowly turned our heads towards the source of the voice and were greeted by the sight of a man. He was a tall man in his late 20's, dressed in a black tuxedo with an ash trench coat over it. Judging by the shade of his messy brown hair, the blue eyes and his facial traits, he was probably of European descent.

''W-Who are you and how did you get in our house?'' I asked nervously, was this guy some kind of thief, no forget that, just how did this man enter our house without Sella or me noticing it.

The man starred at me for a few seconds before nodding slowly. ''Oh my, where are my manners. Andrei Neculai, seventh head of the Neculai house, and a humble magician.'' He presented himself in an elegant manner, doing a small bow.

''Magician?'' I blinked confused, wondering if the man in front of me was right in the head.

I took a quick glance at Sella, she was frowning hard, but this was different from her normal irritated ones... her eyes slowly met mine. ''Shirou... run away... he's dangerous.'' She stated serious, this made me gasp. I saw Sella angry before... many times... but she wasn't just angry right now... I could see it in her eyes... she was scarred... this made me realize just how dangerous the situation was.

''I'm sorry, but the lad isn't going anywhere.'' Andrei told her with a calm tone, yet there was something else mixed in it... I never experienced before... nor have I saw it... but for some reason I was able to recognize it... it was bloodlust.

Sella stiffened for a few moments. She took in a deep breath, she seemed to calm down and regain her posture. I could only speculate that in this kind of situation losing your cool was dangerous. ''What do you want from us?'' she asked in cold yet calm manner.

''It's simple.'' He replied simply, a feral smile forming on his face making all the noble air around him disappear. ''I want revenge against the man who ruined my family.''

Sella swallowed hard. The fear from earlier returning. ''So it's about Kiritsugu-sama...'' My eyes widened. What does dad have to do with this guy?!

The man took a few steps forward, his eyes analyzing the room he was in. ''I must say I was surprised when I found out that the Magus Killer lived in such a place. I was expecting something more dark and sober.'' He admitted, shrugging his shoulders... who the hell is this Magus Killer?

Sella narrowed her eyes, not letting escaping a single move from him. ''If you know what kind of man he is, you must also know that what you're doing now will only get you killed.''

''Perhaps...'' he admitted dryly. The next moment his face got painted with frustration and rage. ''But I can't just stand down after the humiliation he brought to the Neculai family.''

I can't take it anymore... the situation is getting too weird and confusing for me to simply keep silent. ''Just what the hell is going on here Sella?!'' I shouted confused while starring at Andrei. ''What does this guy have to do with dad?''

''Idiot!'' Sella mutter in frustration, I knew that look she just threw me, it was the one she shows when I do something utterly stupid... did I say something wrong?

I took a quick look at Andrei, he seemed a bit surprised, but then a wicked grin formed on his face... I felt a cold shiver ran down my spine. ''Hooo~ so you are the Magus Killer's son? Now isn't this a treat for me.''

Sella took a step forward and moved right in front of me, cutting me off from the so called 'magician'. ''Leave him out of this! He doesn't have any knowledge of our world!'' she demanded furiously... knowledge of our world... just what are you talking about Sella?

''You don't say?'' He nodded with a smile. He put his hand in the inner pocket of his coat and took out a cylindrical vial about the size of beer bottle, which seemed to contain a red liquid... wait... that shade of red... is it blood?

He took off the cap, then a glowing circle with a large number of signs and markings appeared around the bottle and the liquid inside it started moving by itself around Andrei's hand. A predatory grin formed on his face. **''Sulita de sange.''** He declared in a foreign language as the liquid took the form of a European spear.

''What in the world?!'' I gasped in shock, am I dreaming or am I seeing things... ''The blood turned into a spear?!''

I was in shock and awe as I witnessed the whole scene, but Sella seemed more careful than shocked. ''Plasma manipulation?'' she asked the man.

Sella didn't get to react, as the spear Andrei was holding expanded itself and stabbed her in the abdomen. ''Agghhh!'' she whined in pain as the spear retracted from her body.

She grabbed the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but was interrupted by Andrei who just arrived in front of her, glaring her with a cold stare. ''You honestly expect me to believe that the son of that bastard isn't aware of his surroundings?!''

''Sella!'' I shouted as my mind finally comprehended what just happened. I dashed forward and clenched my fist to knock him down. ''Leave her alone!''

''Wow.'' He replied casually as he dodged my fist. He's fast! ''Is this really all you can do?'' he asked with a bored expression as he kicked me in the ribs.

''Aghhh!'' I growled in pain as I felt his knee digging in my abdomen, it felt like my ribs were cracking from the inhuman strength the man possessed... I have been in fights before... but this pain... is he really human?

The sheer force sent me crashing in the table, the wooden piece of furniture shattering on the impact, I could feel splinters piercing my flesh. ''Shirou!'' Sella shouted desperately as she tried to help me, disregarding her own bleeding wound.

I lifted my head, my eyes were throbbing from the pain I felt, I looked at the man who kicked me, he seemed rather confused by what he was seeing, but it was only for a moment as his confusion was quickly replaced by an amused smiled. ''Ha ha ha ha! I can't believe it. He really isn't aware off the existence of the supernatural is he?''

''Stop... If you truly have grudge against Kiritsugu-sama then take it on me and leave the boy alone.'' She muttered to him coldly, I could tell how in pain Sella was, her wound is still open... but she is still willing to protect me... this is wrong.

''A grudge?'' He narrowed his eyes at her words. A crude stare forming on his face. ''A grudge isn't a word strong enough to describe the amount of resentment I feel for that despicable man.''

I managed to resist the pain I was feeling. ''Please stop... It must be a mistake... You must got dad confused with someone else.'' I tried to reason with the man, there's no way this man is after Kiritsugu... he may have a rather stern and scary face sometimes, but he is a very kind man.

His eyes narrowed on me, his smile dropping and confusion could be saw in his eyes. ''... Are you not aware what kind of monster your father truly is, lad?''

I looked at the man, confused even further by his words... the insides of my stomach felt as if they began boiling, a feeling of dread filling it. ''W-What are you talking about?''

His demeanour changed. His eyes were cold and serious, starring right into my eyes. ''Your father is the most brutal and heartless assassin the world has seen in the last couple of centuries, his name itself brings fear to most of my fellow magic users, many of them choosing to run away when they hear the name 'Magus Killer'.'' He declared cold.

I felt like something broke inside of my mind, my mouth began trembling uncontrollably. ''W-What?''

''You heard me right lad. Your father is a merciless killer who doesn't have any problem in killing bystanders in order to terminate his target.''

I felt like my blood turned to ice, my breathing going hectic, my hands and mouth trembling uncontrollably. I couldn't believe what I was hearing... no... it was more precise to say that I didn't want to believe it. ''N-No y-you're lying... dad wouldn't hurt anyone.''

Andrei nodded slightly to my words. ''Oh, you are right... he wouldn't hurt someone. He would murder them and anyone who gets in his way in cold blood.''

I felt like my body was getting colder, this can't be real. I turned my head towards the only person who could reassure me... and my sanity. ''S-Sella. H-He is lying right?'' I muttered nervously as I looked at her. ''D-Dad could never k-kill anyone, right?''

Sella averted her eyes...''S-Shirou... I... '' she muttered with a trembling voice.

No...

I just felt like my very last rope to reality was just cut off and my body fell in a cold and dark place. ''N-No... it can't be...''

My eyes looked back at Andrei, he just sighed tiredly. ''I don't know if I should be amused or pity you lad.'' He straightened his body and prepared his blood spear. ''But no matter. You will die here and now after all.''

'W-What?'' that was all I managed to mutter, it wasn't enough that I just found out that my father, the man that I respect and admire more than anyone in the world, is some kind of serial killer, now I am about to become a victim myself.

''Personally I have nothing against you.'' He nodded to himself tiredly. ''But I want that wretched man to feel the same pain I felt when he killed my brother.''

Sella's face seemed to have cringed. ''Y-You're the brother of Octavian Neculai, aren't you?'' She asked him in a strained voice, getting a reaction from the man in the form of a twitch. ''Kiritsugu-sama told me about him. He had a bounty placed on him for years and was one a step away from murdering 50 newly born children for his experiments. You must realize that it was a matter of time before he got killed.'' She told him calmly, probably hopping to reason with the man. ''Please try to understand. He wouldn't have done it unless the situation demanded it, you're brother was bringing much shame with his illegal experiments. He could have caused an incident that would forever stain your family's name.''

He narrowed his eyes... they were cold and empty. ''Shut up. **'Sabia de sange'**.'' He shouted irritated as the blood spear changed its form into a European long sword.

 _No..._

Andrei raised the sword with both his hand and prepared to cut Sella in half.

 _No!_

He swung the sword down.

 _NOOO!_

Seconds before the sword reached her, I jumped in front of her, shielding her with my body. By the time I realized what happened it was already too late. The sword slashed me... it started from my collar bone and it ended at my hip, I could now feel a deep wound throb all over my front. Fresh blood erupted from the wound, by the time I realized it I already fell to my knees.

''Huh?'' I wondered as I tried to take in what just happen. I saw that he was about to cut Sella and my body, stunned as it was from the revelations, moved on it's on to defend Sella. I didn't even get to cry in pain as I felt my body going numb as it fell to the floor.

Sella screamed as she tried to help me... ''N-No... behind you...'' she didn't even noticed that Andrei's sword changed yet again, this time into a giant claw.

''Arghhh!'' She gasped in pain as the claw pinned her to the nearby wall.

''How interesting.'' Andrei admitted to himself after taking a closer look to Sella. His eyes seemed to be locked on her snow white hair and her ruby red eyes. ''I did hear rumors that a homunculus of the highest quality was spotted together with that bastard, but I never imagined I would actually meet it myself.''

''L-Let go of me you brute!'' She demanded desperately, her body was struggling to break free from the hold.

''How could I do that without inspecting your design?'' He asked wickedly as five blood needles formed at the fingertips of his left hand. Without a second to spare he stabbed the needles inside Sella's abdomen.

''Arghhhh!'' She cried in pain as she felt the man's blood based weapon perforate her flesh... I could see those needles pump something inside of Sella... was he injecting that weird blood inside of Sella?

The man licked his lips in anticipation. ''It seems that my trip to this backwater country will also grant me new research material.'' He noted to himself.

From the floor I was witnessing everything with my own two eyes. The feeling of dread and helplessness was numbing the pain I was feeling from the wound. I felt as if my body was under water and I was slowly diving further into a dark abyss.

My consciousness was slowly fading away, the only thing that was keeping me from passing out were the pain filled screams of Sella.

No... Sella... I have to save her.

Move... move dammit...

I tried desperately to move my body... but it was useless. I couldn't even move my fingers, let alone my whole body. Why won't my body move?

I couldn't even talk anymore... the only thing left in my mouth was blood... the taste of cooper filling it... I wants so bad to through up.

 _Damn..._

My eyes met Sella's tearful eyes. I could feel just by watching the pain she was going through, but it was still useless, my body still won't listen to me.

Get up... get up... I have to get up!

I have to find some strength left in my damn body.

I was praying for a miracle to happen. I didn't care if it were from God or the Devil, I just want to stop the man from hurting my family.

 _Dammit all..._

My vision is darkening... I couldn't see her anymore... but I could still hear her painful cries. I was cursing myself for being so weak.

Time seemed to freeze.

...

I was surrounded by darkness.

...

An endless cycle started.

...

Sella would cry and I would feel a bladed weapon run through my body every time she cried... and I could feel something burn inside of my pocket.

...

 **''Pathetic.''** The voice of a man told me, a voice filled with pity and disappointment.

In this perpetual hell I was going through... I heard a voice.

 _''Yeah... I'm pathetic.''_ I didn't care if I was going crazy or the blood loss was making me delirious... the man was right... I was pathetic.

 **''Weak.''** The man remarked again.

 _''Yeah... I'm weak.''_ Never before in my life did I feel so much shame like I did now... I felt like a waste of life.

 **''Are you gonna let her die?''** he asked me with a rather curios voice.

 _''No...''_ I took a second and asked the voice. _''But what can I do?''_

The voice was silent for a few moments, as if he was contemplating what to tell me. In the end the man sighed. **''Nothing... that's the cold truth.''**

 _''No... ''_ I muttered.

I refuse to accept this.

I don't care if he was right.

I don't care if I was gonna die.

 _But..._

I refuse to let Sella die together with me.

 _''I refuse to give up...''_ I muttered in pain, trying to struggle in my own mind, letting out a pained shout. _''I can't let him kill my family!''_

The voice was silent as if he was judging me. **''...Do you want the power tcommentedr?''**

 _''...Yes.''_ I responded without a moment to spare.

 **''Careful... this power comes at a price.''** He warned me.

 _''I don't care what I have to pay!''_ I shouted at him, if he could help me he should just do it and demand payment after he saved Sella.

 **''Are you sure?''** He asked me once again, only cold seriousness was in his voice... something told me this was a live changing decision. **''If you take this power you can no longer go back to the peaceful and happy days you once knew. The life you once knew will be gone.''** He gave me one last warning, his voice containing a little hesitation in it.

 _''I don't care...''_ I told him coldly, feeling as the last bit of my consciousness was leaving my body. _''If I don't do something... I will still lose everything... so I beg you... give me power to save my family.''_

The man sighed tiredly. **''Very well kid, just don't come crying to me that you regret this choice.''**

Just like that... as if a switch was turned on, I felt my body regain its strength. I snap opened my eyes, my consciousness and senses have returned. I got back up on my feet, my body was burning with a foreign power. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew what I needed to do, as if someone was guiding me along the way.

I reached to the inside of my pocket and took out the card I received earlier. The card was glowing in a red light, all of a sudden the card flashed in light, it was no longer a blank card. On it the image of a person holding a bow pointed at the sky was took form. A rage filled flame burned in me as I looked at the man that was torturing the person I considered my big sister.

 _Two words._

Just two words were going through my mind.

I don't know from where I knew them or just what they truly meant.

But I knew they were they key that I needed.

 **''Install Archer!''**

I shouted with all my might.

At my shout Andrei and Sella looked at me. They both didn't seem sure of what they were seeing. Not only did I get back on my legs, but my body was covered in a powerful light that was changing my clothes.

When the light died out I felt completely different. I looked at myself and saw that my clothes changed completely. Instead of my school uniform I was now sporting a black skin-tight, sleeveless body armor, a pair of metal plated shoes, which appear to be attached to my black trousers. But the most intriguing part was a type of red cape tied around my waist, the matching red sleeve I wore on my left arm, tied over my chest with a knot, and lastly a red bandana was tied around my head.

Letting aside the fact that my clothes look like some kind of anime badass, my very body felt different... it was as if my body was heavy, but light at the same time... it was a very complex sensation.

Sella's eyes were wide open, trying to analyse what she was seeing. ''S-Shirou?'' she muttered in confusion.

Andrei was just as confused as Sella was. No he was far stunned than her. ''Just what sort of magic is this?'' he demanded.

I narrowed my eyes at him... My eyes locked on his own... he froze. It was like a predator just selected its new pray, and its instincts were telling it to run away.

''One that does not concern you.'' I told him... weird... my voice was... distorted. Literally. My voice sounded like a mixture of my own and the man spoke to me in my mind.

I extended my arms wide to my sides. Weird... it felt so natural... I never tried this before... and yet it feel like I've done this hundreds of times before... I know what to do... I knew what to say.

 ** _Judging the concept of creation_**

 ** _Hypothesizing the basic structure_**

 ** _Duplicating the composition material_**

 ** _Imitating the skill of its making_**

 ** _Sympathizing with the experience of its growth_**

 ** _Reproducing the accumulated years_**

 ** _Excelling every manufacturing process_**

 **''Trace on.''**

I muttered strongly, green neon markings appeared on my shoulders, they extended all the way to my palms. Energy... that was the closest thing I could identify to the electric looking phenomenon that was dancing at the very tips of my fingers. In my left hand a white sphere formed, in my right however it was a black one. They began growing, changing, shaping themselves. When the processes completed two Chinese falchions manifested in my hands. The swords were mirroring each other in size and design, a yin-yang mark embedded in the base of the blades, only their color making them different, one of purest white, while the other of darkest night with a red line pattern on it. It was the first time I saw them with my own eyes... but I know them and their names... the married swords, Kansho and Bakuya.

 _Interesting._

This whole process of creating... no that's not the right word... its something else... yes... projection.

This projecting process... even though I saw it carefully with my own two eyes... it took at most just one second.

I took a look back at the people present.

Andrei seemed perplexed, he took a moment and composed himself, adopting a battle position, the blood weapon turning back in its liquid form and swirling around his hand. ''A sacred gear? Do you expect a pair of swords will be enough injure me?'' he asked arrogantly.

''No.'' I replied coldly with a confident smirk on my lips, I may not have any idea what this 'sacred gear' thing is, but I know for sure that what I am using aren't your average swords. ''I expect to defeat you with them.'' I told him as put my weight on right foot, building the force in my body, then I dashed forward.

''Fast!'' his eyes snapped wide as he saw my incoming swords. Even though he was confident moments ago, now he seemed to realize that he had no other choice than defend. **''Scut de sange.''** He shouted as the blood swirled around his front, talking the shape of a shield.

My blades and his shield clashed together. The swords didn't just overcome the defense of the shield... they sliced through it, just like a pair of hot knives through butter. Andrei didn't even have time to react as the swords cut his palms, severing some tendons along the way.

Fresh blood erupted from them, making the man cringe in pain and confusion. ''How could those mere blades cut through my shield?'' he demanded from me.

I didn't bother to reply and just casually threw my swords at him, stabbing him in his ribs on both left and right side.

''Argghhh.'' The man cried in pain as the twin swords buried their way in his abdomen. Pain and fear was clouding his judgement, but he seemed to reach the conclusion that what he was facing wasn't something what he could beat without going all out.

He frowned in pain, a cyan glow began manifesting around himself and began flowing in the blood. The blood on his body and from his wounds levitated and took the form of hundreds of knifes. He extended his left hand and declared in pained voice. **''Ploaia de sange.''**

At his command the knives shot forward towards me, as if they were fired from a machine gun. From a side view one would believe that I was in trouble due to the number of the knives, since I was also unarmed. But they didn't saw what I could see with my newly enhanced vision.

Everything looked so... slow.

It wasn't that I knew the exact place the knives will hit, but I could somehow calculate their aim, their speed, and the moment that they shall hit.

I projected a new pair of Kansho and Bakuya and began blocking every single one of the incoming knives, dodging, deflecting and slicing through them.

Not even a minute has passed and Andrei ran out of his blood ammo. He paled as he realized that his attacks were useless... that and that he used too much of his own blood in the process.

I saw the change in his attitude... I was never one to take pleasure in ones problems, but in this case I couldn't help but smirk at him. ''Is that all?''

 _Rage._

That was all I could see in the man's eyes.

I guess it didn't feel too good for him to get humiliated by the son of the man he was trying to get vengeance on. ''Damn you!'' he shouted as he desperately tried to punch me.

 _A mistake._

It was his last one.

I simply took a step to the side and stabbed him in the legs with my swords...

 _I wasn't done..._

I projected a new pair and stabbed him in the hands... then in the abdomen. By the time I was done Andrei looked like he feel into a pit filled with swords ''Arghhh!'' he cried in pain as he fell to the ground and passed out. As angry as I was at him I didn't stab any of his vitals or any arteries.

 _I wouldn't kill_... that was something I wouldn't step so low to do.

I took a moment and looked at the man. Confirming that he was out for the count.

I changed my eyes to Sella. I walked slowly to her, a cold and serious expression was all over my face. ''S-Shirou?'' Sella muttered as our eyes met. I lifted my sword and aimed it towards Sella.

She closed her eyes in fear, probably expecting a horrible stab pain... but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that I was just cutting of the solidified blood that was keeping her pinned to the wall. When I was done, she breathed relaxed, probably thanking the Gods that I didn't turn into some kind of killer.

Our eyes met... weird... I could see my reflection in her red orbs... it was so clear... I could see my own eyes... those weren't my eyes... they haven't changed in shape and color... but it was the look in them... they were the eyes of a strong warrior... one who has seen far too much pain and death... but at the same time... they were still my eyes.

I began scratching the back of my head and gave her an awkward smile. ''Sorry Sella, I made a mess out of the kitchen.'' I told her a bit bashfully. I mean now that I look carefully this place is a complete mess, I don't even want to comment about the wall filled with blood knives.

When she heard those words all traces of fear, dread and concern on her face were gone... but they were replaced by a very displeased stare. ''Are you an idiot?! Think of yourself first!''

I smiled tiredly at her. Offering her my hand to help her stand up. I still have a hard time putting the right order things when I am directly involved... guess some things don't change no matter how life threatening things become. ''Yeah sorr-'' I stopped talking as I felt my body burn from the inside.

I fell to my knees and began grabbing my chest with my hands, a burning sensation was digging its way in my body. It wasn't painful... it was excruciating. ''Aghhhhhh!'' I screamed in pain as my fingers dug their way in the black body suit, ripping it, revealing that under it was a vast amount of blood.

''Shirou!'' Sella screamed, she grabbed my body and held it in her arms... she gasped as she saw something that we both had forgotten about.

The wounds that I received earlier were still there. All this time I had fought Andrei with that huge wound in my chest. I could feel my whole body go numb... I was losing consciousness. My vision began to blur... but I could still see it... I saw Sella's tears... she was crying... because of me.

Her hands began glowing in a white light, it seemed to enter my wound... but I didn't really feel anything from it. ''Dammit! There was a curse infused in that man's sword technique... I won't heal it in time.'' She mutter in frustration, her hands were gripping so hard on my body... they were trembling... I could feel her tears dripping on my face.

 _No..._

I didn't want this... I didn't want to make anyone cry... especially someone I considered family.

My head lost all its strength and fell numb to the side... curiously, it landed on my backpack... I can barely make up what I'm seeing anymore.

I could tell that I was about to die...

...

 _Weird..._

...

Now that I think about it...

...

If I die...

...

My family will be sad...

...

Kiritsugu... Iri... Illya... Aunt Maiya... Miyu... Liz... Sella...

...

My friends and classmates would probably be sad too...

...

Mitsuzuri... Shitori-senpai... Issei...

...

I never really cared about myself...

But if my death would bring tears to someone...

 _No..._

This is wrong...

I can't let things end like this...

I must live...

I refuse to die...

I MUST LIVE!

...

My vision was really messed up... I could swear I saw a blinding light filling the room... Sella just went silent... did something happen?

''I responded to your call, would you tell-'' a new voice suddenly appeared... it's a girl. ''What happened to him!?'' she asked with concerned and hectic tone.

''H-He tried to***'' huh?... weird... I couldn't hear the last part. ''W-Who and what are you?''

''My name is*** and I am a devil. I came in response to his summon.'' I didn't hear her name... guess the blood loss is affecting m-

 _Wait!_ Did she just say devil?!

''C-Can you save him?'' Sella asked fanatically.

''I'm sorry... believe *** but his wounds are too great.'' She admit, her voice filled with shame and disappointment.

''N-No you must *** I can't let him die!'' Sella demanded... I could feel her tears dripping on my skin. ''W-What is that?'' she asked, did the girl pull out something?

''This is a ****, this is the only to save him.'' Wait so there is a way to save me?

''No!'' Sella stood firm. ''There must another way! There's no way he would accept something like this. I can't just let him become a ***''

''You are free to believe me or not, but it was his desire to live that summoned me in the first place.''

''I can't just make this choice for him!'' Sella cried... dammit... I can't stand this anymore... I know I'm dying... but I can't let this go on.

With the remaining strength I could muster from my body, I managed to open my mouth. This seemed to get the attention of both girls. I tried to speak... but I chocked... my throat was filled with blood... my jaw felt like it rusted away.

With the remaining life I had in my body I managed to mutter. ''L-Live...'' My voice was heavy and broken... it hurt like hell to mutter a single word... but I have to make a choice... I must live.

''I-I... w-want... t-to... l-live!'' those were my final words before my vision went completely black.

''Very well...'' I could feel a hand touch my face... it wasn't Sella's, this hand is a bit smaller... it must be the devils... do all devils have such soft hands?

I sure am dying if I'm thinking about hands in a time like this... guess I really aren't right in the head.

I felt something press against my chest... ''I shall give you a second chance to life Emiya Shirou... but it will be as a _devil_.''

And with those last words... everything went black... I couldn't see... I couldn't hear... I couldn't smell... I couldn't taste... I couldn't feel... everything was pure darkness... there was just one answer I could think of.

 _I, Emiya Shirou... had died._

* * *

 **Omake : It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Hahahaha! Finally Ray decided to get of his lazy ass and start writing on the crossover again. Anyway hosting this segment will be non-other then the Sexy Tiger of Fuyuki, Fujimura Taiga.'' Taiga roared excited, dressed in her dojo hakama, and her trusted wooden sword in her hands.

''I'm the assistant, Student no. 1.'' Illya presented herself cheerfully, dressed in her gym uniform.

''And I am the second assistant, Student no. 2.'' Miyu bowed down and greeted respectfully, dressed in the same manner as Illya.

Illya jumped backwards when she saw who was next to her, her face in full shock. ''Wait Miyu?! Since when were you part of this segment?!''

Miyu turned around and looked stoic at her friend. ''Apparently Ray-san thought that since he is using Fate/Kalied elements, he might give me more screen time. He did only mention us in this chapter after all, and we didn't make an official appearance.''

''Stop breaking the forth wall!'' Illya demanded.

She didn't get to protest any further as Taiga hit them over the head with her shinai. ''Auchh! What was that for?'' Illya cried in pain.

''Child abuse.'' Miyu commented as she rubbed her newly acquired bump on the head.

Taiga puffed her chest, her shinai planted in the floor, a mysterious wind was making her hair flow... which was weird since this was inside the dojo. ''My dear little loli-duo, everything here is non canon so we can discuss pretty much everything we want. If we want we could even discuss about the American presidential elections results.''

''I highly doubt Ray-san would allow us... he isn't very interested in politics.'' Miyu gave her own two cents.

''Moving on...'' Taiga rolled her eyes, not enjoying the fact that her student was right. '' I'm honestly surprised that he is completely rewriting the story and not the chapters he screwed up.''

''I heard that he realized that he was being rather cliché with the way he was writing his story and he wanted to make a version that used ideas that other authors didn't use and try a different approach to the story.'' Miyu commented as she read through the author's old comments and drafts.

'' But how will he do that? I mean he did kind of killed Onii-chan in the ending... plus it's kinda obvious what will happen in the next chapter. I mean I'm sure that he will be revived by-'' Illya was cut off by the sound of her cell ring, which surprisingly was the Carnival Phantasm opening theme song.

''Excuse me for a second.'' She took out her phone from... where did she take out from actually?... her clothes don't have any pockets. ''This is Illya.'' She answered. After ten seconds of silence she closed her phone and put it back from wherever she first took it from.

''Who was it?'' Taiga asked, this the first time they had phone calls in this segment.

Illya turned her head to her teacher, her face lifeless and scared. ''It was Ray-san... he said that if I do unnecessary spoilers he will give Kuro my position of Student 01...''

''But Kuro doesn't even seem to be part of this story...'' Miyu commented confused.

''That's what scares me...'' Illya shivered.

Taiga gripped on the handle of her shinai, breaking it with her brute force. ''Damn you half-baked writer, threatening your staff like that! We shall protest!''

''Instructor we are out of time.'' Miyu commented as she was hugging Illya in an attempt to comfort her.

''Damn! I'll finish my rant next time!'' the tiger roared.

''Stay tuned for the next chapter 'The master!'!'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok so this is it ladies and gentlemen, my new approach and vision of a Highschool DxD and Fate stay night crossover.**

 **I thought about stuff over and over again. The reason why I failed so bad in Guardian of DxD, is because I had some ideas I wanted to implement no matter what, but they were a bit difficult to implement considering the way I wrote the story until that point... and when I tried to set the stage for them, I failed... like real bad.**

 **This is when I understood the meaning and importance of creating a draft and order to a story...**

 **Don't look at me like that... I'm still a newbie when I comes to writing.**

 **Now i know this isn't exactly a remake of Guardian of DxD. Instead of focusing on rewriting the whole story and using the same ideas, with a few differences here and there, i decided to make a new story that will incorporate some of the ideas of Guardian of DxD**

 **I'm sure that many of you are wondering if this isn't actually a DxD/ Fate Kaleid crossover. Well to answer that question, it's not a 100% one, it takes a lot of elements and factors from Kaleid, but at the same time it isn't.**

 **About why I chose to write Shirou this way. The thing I have a rather hard time completely grasping is Shirou's character. While there are many aspects of his character that I got covered in the past, I also made a lot off 'out-of-characters' moments. So I thought than rather than choosing an already fully known version of Shirou, why not try to go in depth with his most obscure version.**

 **Now you may think that Shirou from Fate Kaleid (Illya's brother) may be a bad idea, I admit that he had so little screen time, and in the screen time that he appeared he seemed like a happy go lucky, classic harem protagonist type of character.**

 **But what if tried to go in deeper in his character, what if we go beyond that smile of his? What if deep down he is completely different from what he lets people get? What if deep down, he is actually much more complex than we think?**

 **Now I just wonder who is the lucky devil who resurrected good old Shirou-chan?**

 **Anyway, I tried to think of it from this perspective. Wouldn't it cooler if Shirou would actually work his ass of for his strength and not be op from the start? Wouldn't it be cool if he tasted defeat before he tasted victory?**

 **Now to put the idea of this story in perspective. This isn't the story of a Shirou Emiya from the main routes or an EMIYA turned devil, but it's the story of normal Shirou turned into a devil that has the biggest potential to become an even greater EMIYA. Watch as a normal boy with a lot of inner turmoil becomes one of the biggest wild cards of the whole supernatural world.**

 **Now on a side note i will try and write this story from Shirou's perspective.**

 **Now on a more important note. Rejoice Highschool DxD anime fans, its official now. Our favorite Harem king and his girls are returning to the big screen, yes you heard me right Highschool dxd is getting a 4th season. Now i only know that the new season will be done, but i don't know details of the exact release date, or any of plot line the 4th story will follow.**

 **Oh and i got a question.**

 **Is Fate/Grand Order really getting a anime adaptation?**

 **I read on some forums and i don't really know what to say about it. I mean i think that the anime will get a lot of rage from fans.**

 **Hear me out. The beauty of FGO is that you can technically chose your favorite servants to be on your team and be 'the good guys' as long as you can get them on the roll. So the selection of the heroic spirits that will be on the Protagonists (who apparently will be called Fujimaru Ritsuka)** **team will be like a lottery, it can either be servants we love and adore, or servants we actually hate.**

 **But on the good side, we will get to see many servants do their debut on the big screen. Anyway what do you think about all of this?**

 **Notes: Translations**

 **Sulita de sange- Blood spear in Romanian**

 **Scut de sange- Blood Shield in Romanian**

 **Sabia de sange- Blood Sword in Romanian**

 **Ploaia de sange- Blood rain in Romanian**

 **So then until next!**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	2. The Master!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _When I look back, I remember the times when I hurt the people I cared about, I hurt them with my words and my reckless actions._

 _I was a fool back then._

 _I couldn't see that what I was doing was making the people I wanted to protect suffer._

 _I wish I could just go back and apologize, tell them that I'm sorry for all the pain I put them through._

 _But it's far too late..._

 _I can no longer ask for their forgiveness..._

 _For I am far beyond forgiveness._

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

 **The master!**

* * *

It hurts...

''Quickly! Take him to O.R.!'' I heard a man order.

Everything hurts...

''He's state is critical, we must operate him now.'' a woman shouted.

I feel my body getting weaker...

''Doctor he is bleeding again!''

Everything feels so heavy...

''I need 20 mg of Morphine!''

I... can't breathe!

''Doctor he is going into respiratory arrest!''

I... need... to... breathe...

''Dammit! Prepare him for intubation!''

Everything feels so heavy... everything feels so dark...

I try to open my eyes, but I fail to understand what I was seeing with them... All I could see were lights and blurry forms...

My eyes closed back... everything went completely black.

* * *

Dizzy...

That was the best word I could find to describe the way my mind felt. I don't know for how long I've been like this, but something tells me it wasn't just an hour.

I would just crack open my eyes, take a quick peak around myself, then fall back asleep. I couldn't help it, I felt so tired... so weak.

During the times when my eyes were open I managed to see where I was. My body was lying in a bed... I was all covered in bandages... even my head is tied tightly in bandages... There was some kind of tube in my throat, connected to an odd looking machine, the room was white and clean, and right next to my head were some flowers on a small cabinet.

I think I'm in a hospital room...

I don't even know how many days have passed since I ended up here, but I know for sure that I've been here for a while... during those brief moments that my eyes opened, I could see that the flowers next to my bed were changed with new ones.

Another interesting thing is that even though I was asleep most of the time, there were moments when I could hear the people in the room talk.

''How is he doctor?'' a woman asked... her voice sounded so sweet and gentle.

Sometimes... I was in a half asleep state. I would hear people talk around me, but I wasn't awake. It was a really odd sensation.

''Hard to tell. He was in critical condition when you and your husband brought him. It nothing short of a miracle that he managed to survive.'' The doctor answered... guess I was pretty messed up when I got here if I am like this.

''I see.'' The woman acknowledged.

I heard something like a beeping sound, probably some kind of alarm or message. The man seemed to sigh as the sound ended. ''I'm sorry but I have to get back on my shift, you can stay a little longer if you want.''

''Thank you doctor.'' The woman thanked him. I hear a door open and close... guess the doctor left. ''How long will you let the boy use it?'' she asked... wait... was there someone else in the room?

''Until he regains his consciousness. Afterwards I will extract it and we will be on our way.'' A man responded, his voice was cold and sounded somewhat mechanical.

''Are you sure this is the right choice?'' the woman asked, her voice was so sweet, yet it was filled with so much doubt.

''I just want to make sure he will be fine.'' His response sound impassive, his voice didn't seem to let any emotion attached to it... and yet... I can feel kindness in it regardless.

I heard a small giggle. Was what the man said funny that it made the woman chuckle? ''You usually don't show this amount of concern to strangers Kiritsugu.''

''I won't deny it Iri. But there is something about this boy that got my attention.'' He told her... I wish I can see his face... somehow his voice... it sounds familiar.

I could feel his hand... he was patting my head... his hand felt so rough and hard... yet... it made me feel very safe... so safe that I fell in a deep sleep.

* * *

I opened my eyes... finally... after God knows how much time... I was fully awake.

I lift myself slowly up... my body feels so weak and heavy... I noticed that there was a nurse in the room arranging a tray on the nearby desk. I open my mouth to call to her to her... what came out was a rough and scratched growl... that seemed to scare her... I don't know what was wrong with my voice.

The nurse looked at me, her face seemed to be a mixture of shock and surprise. She didn't say anything to me, but rather she went outside of the room. ''Someone call the doctor!'' I could hear her shout from outside the room.

I didn't even get move to much as a doctor stormed in the room and was looking at me like I was some kind of abstract art. After a few minutes of staring at me the doctor coughed lightly. ''Boy can you speak?''

''Y-Yeah.'' I answer with a small nod, my voice was quiet and strained, and it was difficult to talk... especially since I have this weird tube in my throat.

The doctor raised up one his arms as he took a seat next to my bed. ''Speak slowly. You have been intubated for a rather long time, so your throat is still sore.''

I nodded at his request, the doctor then took out a small notebook and a pen. ''Now boy, I will do some basic tests to see if your senses are ok.''

The so called test went pretty well. They were basically a series of medical questions and exercises, like making me read some letters to see if my sight is ok, or some deep breath exercises to see if my lungs were ok, among many others.

The doctor smiled as he continued to write down in his notebook. ''Surprisingly you don't seem to have any permanent or lingering damage.''

I tilted my head confused. ''Isn't that good?''

''It is, but it's very surprising considering the state you were when you were brought it.'' He explained.

''I see...'' I nodded... 'The state I was in' he says... just how bad was I when I arrived here?

''Do you have any questions?'' the doctor asked me.

''Just one.'' I confirmed, there was indeed one single question that has been bugging me ever since I began to regain my consciousness... but i didn't even know how I am supposed to even ask it...

''What is it?'' he asked me curiously.

''Who am I?'' I asked him, the doctor's smile and calm look vanished, the room was filled with silence.

* * *

White...

 _Shirou..._

The ceiling at which I'm currently starring at is white.

 _Shirou..._

Just like the state my mind is... blank... empty... white.

 _Shirou..._

I can't remember anything... all except for one single word...

 _Shirou..._

I tried so hard to remember something... but the only thing that I seemed to remember was the word 'Shirou'...

Am I Shirou?

Or is Shirou my father? My brother? Some relative? A friend? A neighbour? Just a random person that I knew? Or just a color that kept coming back to me no matter how hard I thought?

I don't know...

The doctors decided that since I can't remember anything, and they have no form of identification for me, they would temporally make Shirou my name.

Everything that is happening to me... it feels too overwhelming.

I don't know if I have a family... friends... a home... a place to go to...

I don't even know who I truly am...

I'm scared... what's gonna happen to me?

I don't know what I am supposed to do... I'm all alone...

No...

I grabbed my head... there has to be something else... anything... a name... a place... a person... I must remember something else.

I could feel my fingernails dig in my skin, but I ignore the pain as I try so desperately to remember something...

I just can't accept what the doctor told me...

After he heard my question, he immediately went and looked over my medical file... when he returned he apologized and told that me that he had mistaken for another patient.

From what he told me, I was caught in a gas explosion that took place in the residential area of Kuoh. I was among many of the people who were brought in the hospital in critical condition, and because I seemed ok he thought I was one of the less injured patients.

Turns out that I was the most injured patient that was brought it in. The burns on my body weren't so severe, and I didn't inhaled a dangerous amount of smoke. But I had an injury that put me on the 'first priority list' or so to speak.

The doctors went all out on me and explained me a bunch of words and terms that I didn't understand, but I managed to get the basic idea.

My skull was fractured in so many places that it was unbelievable that I managed to survive the surgery. In fact from what the doctors told me, even if I did manage to recover from my injury there was almost no chance that I will won't get away without any permanent brain damage or without some form of mental scarring.

Setting aside that I am now suffering from a full scale amnesia, they call my recovery nothing short of a miracle.

I don't really know what to say... one hand I am very scared and confused since I can't remember anything... but on the other hand, spending my life clueless does sound better than in a wheel chair in a vegetative state without having any comprehension of what's going on around me.

.

.

.

Guess a memory loss is the least bad after effects that I could have got stuck with. Gotta stay positive and hope that my memory may return one day.

* * *

 _Boring._

The hospital is boring.

Due to my injuries I have to stay in this special care room, but it's very boring since I'm all alone here. There are the doctors and nurses that come from time to time to check on me, but they can't stay to long with me as there are other patients in the hospital that need help.

The only thing I could do in these moments was try and concentrate... maybe I could remember something... but each time I tried... my head hurt very bad.

I heard a knock on the door. I turned to look and saw the doctor.

''Any luck remembering anything else Shirou-kun?'' the doctor asked me curiously, I waved my head in response. The doctor sighed and began rubbing the bridge of his nose. ''I know this is a lot to ask for, but try not to let it get to you. There have been cases of patients suffering from amnesia that eventually regained their memories.''

If I could be so positive... he doesn't have any idea how it feels to be in complete white about your own life.

Another thing that scares me is that I may very well be all alone. From what the doctor told me, I've been in the hospital for a while, and not even once has someone came to identify me. He told that among the people who were caught in the gas leak, not even one of them recognized me. He speculated that I may not have even lived in that complex, but rather was there by coincidence.

This series of facts make my future seem very dark.

''You know...'' I looked the doctor who began speaking again. ''Remember the couple that I told you about? The one that brought you in?''

He did say that there was a couple that kept visiting me while I was asleep. Something about the man who saved me from under the debris of the building. I nodded my head to him.

''Well the thing is, they're here and they would like to see you.'' he explained a bit awkward. ''That's of course if you want to see them.''

I felt like there was something in me that just ignited. I nodded my head to him in response.

The doctor didn't say anything, he just went outside the room. A few moments later two people entered the room.

I looked at them very curiously. For some reason they didn't seem like your average people to me.

The first was a young beautiful lady with snow white hair and ruby red eyes. She was wearing a white fur winter coat and a matching fur hat... She is a very pretty lady.

Right next to her was a man with black hair... strangely his black eyes seem kind of vacant. He's dressed in a black suit and a matching trench coat. When our eye met, my head felt like it split opened.

It hurts!

I grabbed my head with my hands... There was something about this man that was making my head hurt.

After a few seconds of agonizing pain, images flashes in my mind.

Fire. Smoke. Blood. Screams. Debris. The face of a man.

''I remember...'' I slowly muttered as I looked back at the man in front of me. No, my memory didn't return... or at least not all of it. ''...You're the man that saved me from under the debris.''

I remember... I was caught under the burning debris... I was slowly dying... Yet, among those scorching pieces of debris, I could hear a voice telling me to hang on.

I was surrounded by pitch darkness. I could hear his voice, but I couldn't tell where it came from, nor how far it was away from me.

Light...

Small beams of light began illuminating the darkness. The debris was getting removed piece by piece, with the light increasing with each piece removed. I could see him.

My vision was blurry, but I could still see him. He used a large piece of wood as a pillar to keep the rest of debris from falling me on.

I could see his face, he was crying... but he was also smiling.

Why?

Why was crying? Why was he smiling so happily?

I wanted to ask him so badly those questions, but my eyes closed on their own and everything went dark.

How odd. Even though everything is so dark, I could feel a gentle light surrounding me, warming my broken body.

It happened all so fast. So many flashes in so little time. Weird, I felt someone patting my back, I turned around and saw the white haired lady mere inches away from my face.

''Hi there!'' the woman greeted me with a cheerful smile. I instantly jumped and backed up, I think most people would do if they found a stranger almost making contact with their face.

The woman was looking confused at me. As if she didn't understood why I reacted the way I did. I heard a tired sigh, it was from the man. ''Iri, what have we discussed about personal space?'' the man asked his white haired friend. His voice was cold and tired, but it I could feel genuine affection when he talked to the woman.

The woman, who he called Iri, tilted her head slightly. ''Hhmm, I need to be careful not to invade it?'' she asked a bit unsure.

''Yeah.'' The man nodded slightly as walked towards us. He gazed on me with calm eyes. ''You seem to be recovering well.''

I nodded quietly at him. He did the same as me. ''That's good.'' He replied, his face showing a different answer than his words. ''My name is Emiya Kiritsugu and this is my wife Irisviel von Einzbern.''

''Yahoo~'' the woman waved at me cheerfully.

''I know you are still recovering, but we wanted to see if you're getting better personally.'' He explained to me. '''Since we done that, we will be one our way.''

He turned around and began walking.

Wait...

''Already Kiritsugu?'' Irisviel pouted. ''But we just got here.''

''The boy needs his rest. He is still recovering. We can visit him again some other time.'' He stated rather coldly.

No... Don't go just yet. Come one, say it before he leaves.

My fists tightened. ''W-Wait!'' I managed to mutter, this got his attention and he turned around to look at me. ''Y-You were the one that saved me that night, right?''

He didn't answer, just nodded. At least I know that everything I saw wasn't just a dream or hallucination. If that is true then there is something I have to tell him. I lowered my head in front of him. ''Thank you for saving my life.'' I told him as I stared at my hands.

Silence.

He didn't say anything. I looked up at him and was confused by his look. He was looking at me rather odd, his calm and impartial facial expression didn't change but his eyes were slightly wider, his mouth was also opened a little. It was such a strange expression he had.

''You are welcome.'' For a few moments his eyes softened, a small smile appeared on his face. I never saw a smile like that, it was seemed like a tired smile, but he seemed happy none the less.

I suddenly felt a weird sensation. I looked at the woman and she was staring at me in a very weird way. ''I-Is something wrong?'' I asked a bit confused.

She didn't waste any time and grabbed my face, pulling it closer to hers. She tilted her head to the side. ''Weird. You have Japanese features, but your hair and eyes don't look Japanese. Kiritsugu, do you think he has Scottish roots?'' She muttered as she traced her fingers through my hair. I could hear her husband sigh in the background.

She is to close!

I managed to back up a little and make some space between us, this made her look shaken by my action, sighting shortly after. ''Ops, sorry.'' She laughed awkwardly. ''I guess you got scared by a strange lady like me.'' She laughed awkward as she averted her red orbs, starring at the floor.

''N-No, it's not like that.'' I admitted as I rubbed the back of my head. ''I-It's just... It feels a little embarrassing being so close to someone so pretty.'' I told her honestly.

She looked at me with a blank stare. She blinked once, than twice, before she let out a chuckle that made me feel a chill down my spine. Before I knew she grabbed me and hugged me in the tightest hug that I ever felt. I couldn't see her face due to the fact that she buried my head into her chest, but something tells me she was very happy judging by the way she was humming.

''Iri, he can't breathe.'' Emiya-san commented, he was right though, it's a bit hard to breath like this.

''Kiritsugu.'' Irisviel-san began, her voice was sounded very sweet, yet for some reason it scared the living day out of me. ''We're keeping him.'' She declared as if she was instating a new law.

I couldn't see Emiya-san face, but somehow I can tell that his face was no longer stoic. ''Iri, we can't just-''

''We're keeping him.''

''Iri, this isn't-''

''We. Are. Keeping. Him.''

''...Yes dear.''

This was the first time I met my new family.

* * *

 _Darkness._

Nothing but a void of darkness wherever I looked.

I tried to look at my hands, but they were missing. Not just them, but I couldn't see or feel any part of my body.

I don't know how long I've been here.

Was it just a few minutes?

Or was it actually a few hours?

I don't know. This place I am currently into ruins any sense of time one could have. Just how long will I be here? Also... how did I even get here in the first place?

 _Ba~ Bump!_

I suddenly felt something. It was a strong pounding, like a heartbeat. I could feel it getting stronger by the second.

I could now see something up ahead in the darkness of the void.

Light. Azure blue light was what I saw in the sea of darkness. I'm not sure if this is what people mean by the light at the end of the tunnel, but I would rather take my chances than remain in this place.

I approached the light source. Which was very weird since I couldn't feel my body, I don't even know if I'm actually walking or floating there.

When I was a few steps away from the source I could somewhat tell what it was. There were three small spheres that were floating in the air, illuminating the darkness of this world.

This light... it feels so warm, as if it's calling me. I thought of extending my hand touch the source. In that moment, the spheres shot themselves towards me.

Normally I would have panicked, but I somehow felt that I need to let the sphere's do what they need to do. The spheres entered my body, filling it body with their light, giving me strength and life.

As the light was filling me, my body began to slowly reappear. Such a foreign feeling yet it feels so... so... painful!

I grab my chest as I felt it ripping itself apart, a sensation akin to metal claw eviscerating a chunk of my chest flesh. The pain was so intense that my eyes closed and cringed from the pain.

The pain was like wave. It would some time rise, and other times lower. It was when it lowered and I cracked open my eyes that I saw what was surrounding me.

 _Swords._

My eyes danced in my head as I tried to comprehend where I was.

 _Swords._

I was in the middle of what I could only call a desolate waste land.

 _Swords._

There was nothing here. No grass, no rocks, no rivers, no trees, not even the sun could be seen from the smog that was filling the sky.

 _Swords._

There was no sign of any kind of life. There was just...

 _Infinite Swords._

Swords and many other weapons were stabbed in the ground. Weapons so majestic and beautiful and yet appear so sad. Weapons without one to use them, the way the just stay there without a purpose... the look like gravestones.

I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be natural for a land to look like this. I think that I once read that war, pollution and human expansion can turn the most beautiful of lands into waste lands. Just what could have happen for the land to end up like this?!

I turned and look in the distance. I couldn't tell exactly, but there was something there.

 _A hill._

My body began moving on its own, its destination the summit of that hill. I don't know why but I feel that there is something up there. Something that I need to see no matter what.

The distance was quite long but I didn't get bored as I had quite a lot of weapons to look at on the way there. As I got near the base of the hill my eyes went wide as I saw the sky.

 _Gears._

Giant metal gears spinning slowly in the sky. Like the mechanism of a machine. A machine with a single purpose.

Just where am I?

As I was getting closer to the summit of the hill, I could see a figure at the top. It looked like a person.

When I was just few meters from it, the moment I got a better look at him, my heart stopped.

It was a man sitting with his back towards me, his gaze watching over the landscape of this land. He was taller than me, with tanned skin and white hair. He seems to be dressed in some kind on red mantle or overcoat. But the thing that truly shock my very core was what was sticking out of his body...

 _Swords._

So many swords were stabbed all the through his body. Is the man even alive?

 _Ba~ Bump!_

Again... The pain from before is back, even worse than last time. As I trembled in pain, I looked at the man's head. He slowly turned it around. I saw the left side of his face.

 _Steel._

That was all I can see in the in his eyes. Grey like steel and sharp like those of a hawk. The moment gold met grey I felt my something break in me.

Before I could even record, one of the azure spheres that entered my body earlier reappeared and flew towards the man. Instinctively I extended my right arm to grab it. I did catch it.

But it flew right through my hand.

As I saw the sphere fly away, I felt multiple stabbing pains in my right hand.

 _Snap._

I heard a sound coming from my hand.

 _Snap. Snap._

Blades.

 _Snap. Snap. Snap._

There were blades erupting out of my arm. They were spreading fast. From my forearm, to my shoulder, to my neck.

 _Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap._

''No!'' My arm was already a mass of blades. It was reaching my face. ''Please stop! ''

I could feel the inside of my mouth turn to steel. ''No, no, no, no, NO!''

I screamed as my flesh body became a body of blades.

* * *

''Gahhh!'' I gasped as my eyes snapped open, my body shifted up, trembling from shock. I look around myself and recognize where I was. I was in my room, more precisely in my bed.

I look around, then look at myself, noticing the bullets of cold sweat drifting on my body.

''Just a dream...'' I sighed tiredly to myself as I began running my hand through my hair. Just a dream... or maybe I should say half a dream, as the first part of it was in fact a memory.

Ten years... it's been ten years since the incident and my adoption in this family. Time sure flies fast, yet it sometimes feels like nothing really changed during these ten years. Now that I think about it everyone is pretty much the same. Dad is most of the time away with work, Iri is still as quirky as always, Sella is still as strict as ever, Liz still chill and lazy like the first day I met her, Illya and Miyu are as clingy as they always are, even aunt Maiya is unchanged.

Well, I'm not saying that it's necessary or important to change, but I can't help but wonder if people ever change. I keep wondering about this because I still hope that I may change one day. That I may find something to give me some sense of self or need.

I've been wondering about for a long time... and yet I still haven't found a trail to the answer that I desire. While I can't say that I hate or don't enjoy my life, I just feel that there is something missing in it... something to make it feel more fulfilling.

All that aside... just what was that last part of my dream?

That empty and desolate hill, filled with nothing but swords.

Swords so beautiful and awe-inspiring, yet they looked like grave stones the way they were planted in the earth. It was a really odd sight, but what truly disturbed me was what happened to my body at the end of the dream. I took a look at my right hand and let out a tired sigh. Why am I even worrying for?

It's not like blades can just erupt like it did in my dream... But still... it was very core-shaking to look at.

Now that I think about it, I didn't even notice that my whole body is covered in cold sweat. Guess it was more disturbing then I give it credit for.

I took of my sweat drenched shirt and made my way to the bathroom, I really need a shower.

I made my way and quietly entered the bathroom. Inside, I was greeted by the form of a woman. It's Sella, my caretaker... who was apparently sitting in front of the sink... wearing only a towel around her slender body, which seemed to glister from the bullets of water that were covering her...

 _Oh shit._

My mouth almost hit the floor from how much it was hanging. Sella's face went red, which was really accentuated considering how fair her skin is.

I tried to think of a way to apologize before I get my head bashed into a wall... again... by my rather prone to violence caretaker. ''M-Morning S-Sella...'' I muttered, my voice sounded a bit cracked and embarrassed. Of course...me being me, I ended up saying something else then what I thought.

Wait!

Why do I feel like this happened before?

Is this what people mean when they talk about a Déjà Vu feeling?

Wait a moment! This isn't the time for this! I'm about to get my head bashed in the wall!

A closed my eyes and braced myself for an incoming impact... Weird... I'm not feeling anything. I cracked one of my eyes and looked at Sella. When I saw her I was speechless, she just stood and stared at me, her body trembling slightly, but her face didn't show any anger.

I don't know what's going on, but this definitely has never happened before, there must be something wrong with Sella. ''Are you ok Sella?'' I asked, my voice trembled a little as I tried to keep my eyes looked on hers and not let them drift to... other parts.

I didn't know how long I have blinked, because the next thing that I registered was Sella jumping towards me. ''Shirou!'' I heard her shout my name, but there wasn't any rage in her voice, rather she sounded happy.

The moment she tackled me I crashed in the nearby wall. The impact must have been pretty rough since I heard some of the shampoo bottles on the nearby shelter fell down.

I frowned. Think I hit my head against something. I opened my eyes to complain about what's going on, but my mouth froze when I saw Sella's face. There were tears in her eyes. ''I'm sorry...'' she muttered with a shaken voice, her embrace became very tight. ''I'm so sorry...''

Ok... just what the actual hell is going on here?

Did Sella hit her head or something? Why is she crying and apologizing for?

This situation is really weird. Even though she is the one apologizing, I'm the one who is probably feeling most awkward here. Also... I feel like I'm forgetting something very important.

''Sella what happened?!'' I turned my head to the door as someone slapped it open... it was small girl that many could a miniature version of Irisviel. She is her spitting image, with the same white hair and red eyes, the only visible difference one could see between them is the age gap and the grown bangs the girl had. She is Illya, my little sister.

The moment she saw me, her mouth seemed to drop and hanged open, also her eyes rolled back and I could see their whites. This was a rather disturbing image.

''Illya is something wron-'' another person froze as she entered the bathroom. It was a girl the same age and size as Illya, with shoulder length black hair and golden eyes like my own. It's Miyu, Aunt Maiya's adoptive daughter, and my unofficial cousin. Her reaction was similar to Illya's, albeit more tamed as she just froze and stared at me emotionless like I was some kind a circus attraction.

Ok just what's wrong with them? Why are they staring at me like that? It's not like I'm doing anything weird or something wron-

.

.

.

 _Oh shit..._

Realization suddenly hit me like a mallet over my head as I just processed my current position. I'm currently sitting on the bathroom floor, without any shirt on, with Sella on top of me wearing nothing expect a towel, which somehow has loosen up and looks like it could fall at any moment.

I think that this image would incline any person who saw it believe that we were doing something rather... erotic.

But that's not case!

Man just how the hell can I explain this to them without unleashing a full out chaos zone?!

I managed to open my mouth. Better try to calm them down before this escalates. ''I-Illya, Miyu t-this isn't what it looks lik-'''

''MAMA!'' Illya screamed as she stormed out of the bathroom, dragging the still shock frozen Miyu after her. ''SHIROU IS DOING ECHII THINGS WITH SELLA IN THE BATHROOM!''

OH COME ON!

I can buy the fact that you won't believe any excuse I would give you, but at least give me the chance to even try and explain!

''WHAT?!'' I could hear my mom's shocked scream all the way from the living room. As ditzy and open minded Iri may be, there's no way she could just stay silent about her son having an affair with his caretaker in the bathroom... even if that isn't the case at all and is just a misunderstanding on Illya's part. I'm sure that Iri is gonna get revolted and- ''Good job Shirou! Better give me grandchildren soon. Not many, just four or five. Also remember to lock the door next time.''

.

.

.

And just like that, the last fraction of respect I had left for Iri just went down the drain.

I want so bad to face palm myself right now, but my hands are kind of stuck under Sella's body. Speaking of which, Sella has been unusually silent this whole time. I curiously look at her. Her face was almost as red of her eyes, also the said eyes were now spinning in circles at a very high speed in her head.

Everything went dark the next moment.

* * *

I opened my eyes and was greeted by the sight of the fan spinning on the ceiling. Weird. Last time I check I was in the bathroom, and now I'm in the living room.

Man my head hurts!

I lifted my body from the couch. My head feels like I've been hit by a freaking rock. Last thing I remember was a stretched scream and everything went completely black... I think Sella head-butted me. Well can't really complain. I've been through worse. At least someone was kind enough to put a shirt on me.

I turned around and saw only red. Red eyes to be exact. Red eyes that were staring intensely at me to be even more exact. ''Oh, hey Liz.'' I greeted the woman that was looking at me like I was some kind of abstract painting. ''Why are you staring at me like that?'' I asked her a bit curious, it's not unusual for her to stare at someone without blinking while wearing the perfect poker face, but her stare seems more intense this morning.

''Shirou. We need to talk with you.'' she told, or rather informed me. She got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen. ''Follow me.''

Ok, something tells me that I won't enjoy this discussion one bit. I sighed and got up from the couch, only then did I notice that there were two people on the nearby chairs. ''Liz...'' I began, not sure how I am supposed to ask this. ''Why are Illya and Miyu passed out on the chairs?''

Liz looked at me for a few seconds without blinking, then at Illya and Miyu, then back at me. ''Your mother.'' She stated simply... her answer didn't really help me though.

I gave up and followed her, maybe it's in best of my health if I leave it at that and don't dig any deeper.

When I entered the kitchen I was surprised by who was in it. Besides Sella and Iri, there was another person sitting at the table with them.

A woman in her early thirty with chin length black hair and matching black eyes, dressed in a grey sweater and black pants. ''Maiya-san?'' I asked confused as I was staring at my aunt, Maiya Hisau.

''It's been a while Shirou-kun.'' She greeted me with her usual sharp stare. A while she says? How long was it this time? Two months? Who knows... I haven't been keeping track. I gave up doing that a while ago, I mean she and dad are always gone on jobs overseas.

''I didn't know you were returning. Is dad also coming home?'' I asked curiously since they always visit together, much to Iri's annoyance for some reason. Don't know why but they are always arguing like a pair of sisters fighting over a stuff toy.

''I'm afraid Kiritsugu can't return home for a while. Also, I rushed here when I heard what happened.'' Her tone dropped a little when she said the last, she also gestured for me to take a seat.

''Did something happen?'' I asked confused as I took a seat at the table. At my question Sella's face seemed to darken, Iri was no longer smiling like she usually does, and even Liz seems to be concerned about something.

''Shirou...'' Iri began, her childish tone is gone and replaced with a serious one. ''Do you remember the man who attacked you and Sella?''

''The man who-'' My eyes gaped, flashes of the fight I had with that man going through my head. I remember everything. I could feel my body going colder, sweat forming on my face. ''S-So it was real? Everything that happened was real?!'' I asked, hopping that maybe most of it was a delusion on my part.

''I'm afraid it was all real.'' My mom answered while tilting her head to the side.

Her answer made my whole body feel like it wants to break apart. I don't know what's going on with me, but I couldn't keep silent about this. ''T-Then is what that man said true? Is dad really some killer?'' my voice was heavy and cold, my hands were shaking violently, why wouldn't they considering how revolted I was right now.

''Shirou-kun please calm down, this isn't as simple as you thi-'' I smashed my fist in the table as my anger reached its limits.

''The hell I can calm down! I found that the man I respected and called my father is some kind of a criminal! How would you feel if you were in my position?!'' I shouted her, my tone actually surprising her.

''Shirou, I know you are confused and angry but the situation is much more complicated than you can imagine.'' Iri tried to reason with me, she failed.

''What's so hard to imagine?! Apparently dad has a thing for killing and does it while he is away from home.'' I threw my frustration on my mom, not keeping track of what I was truly saying.

Slap!

Perhaps it was due to my anger that I didn't even register the incoming hand. My mom just slapped me. This... might just be the first time she actually hit me. There might have been some times when she pinched my cheeks or pulled my ear, but she never slapped me like this.

It hurts. My face stings very bad as I look at Iri... she was angry. This was also the first time I made my mom this angry.

''It's better that she hit you. Maiya was about to do it and she has stronger hands.'' Liz commented with her usual look. That doesn't make my face hurt less you know!

''Shirou.'' She began, her voice was cold and serious, something that I would have normally considered impossible from someone so sweet and ditzy like Iri. ''You have the right to be confused, to be revolted, to be angry, you may even have the right to hate him, but you don't the right to judge Kiritsugu.''

For a moment I thought I was talking to a completely different person. Is this really the same Iri that always teases and embarrasses me?

''... Then tell me. Just what don't I understand?'' I tried to compose myself, shouting at my family won't get me anywhere.

Iri immediately made eye contact with Maiya-san. The later nodding her head. ''Very well.'' She sighed tiredly. ''Shirou, while it's true that your father has taken, and may take the lives of other people in the future, he never did it out of pleasure or an unjustified reason.''

''Unjustified reason?'' I asked confused, just what reason could justify killing?

''Your father is at first sight what many may call a mercenary, but he isn't one because of money or other selfish reason. He does in order to assure that people won't have to go through what he did. When he kills a person he kills for the better good.'' She calmly explained to me, but her explanation didn't calm me at.

''How could killing help the better good!?'' I snapped at her, since when does killing people help the world?!

Maiya-san saw my outburst, she made a wave to me. ''Tell me Shirou-kun. If you were forced to watch as a person is about to injure or even kill a large number of people, would you stop him or let him do it?''

''Of course I would stop him.'' I replied immediately, it goes without saying that I would try to stop him, but I don't see the point of the question.

She threw me a sharp stare. ''Then would you be prepared to kill him?''

Her question stunned me. ''W-What?''

''If the only way to save those people is to kill the man, would you do it? Would you pull the trigger even if it meant making enemies of that man's family and friends? Could you also live bearing the weight of that person life on your shoulders? Could you live knowing that the world may well just view you as a monster?'' she continued to throw in her questions, with each one the situation felt more difficult. ''It's difficult isn't it? Well this is what Kiritsugu has been facing for so many years, and he was even younger than Illya was when it all began. He would be forced to take radical decisions, having to kill people in order to make sure that the majority would be safe.''

''If you want to judge him, then be free to do it.'' Her eyes were locked right onto my own. They seemed calm, but there was also irritation in them. ''But you should at least hear everything from Kiritsugu's mouth before deciding anything.''

I... I...

She is right...

I am letting my feelings blind me. Perhaps it may very well be true that my dad doesn't have a problem taking a life away... but he is still the man that saved me that night... he is still the man that treated me as his son, the person who taught me how to fish, who carried me all the way to the hospital when I got beat up by group of delinquents, who I would spend time on the roof when Iri and Sella kicked him out of the house for trying to smoke, who tried to help me once make breakfast and accidentally set the kitchen on fire, who would take me and Illya to the park when he was home, he is still... my father.

''You're right...'' I admitted to them, feeling disappointed with myself. I should give Kiritsugu the benefit of the doubt before I try to label him. ''I'm sorry.''

''Good.'' My aunt nodded. ''Now that you are calm you have two options from which to choose from.''

I tilted my head confused. ''Options?''

''You can either learn the whole story and truth about Kiritsugu from us or you can wait for Kiritsugu himself to return and discuss everything with him.'' She explained as she moved a strand of her black hair to her side.

I took a moment and thought about it. While I would very much like to learn everything here and now, I think it would be for the best if I heard everything from Kiritsugu himself. Guess I have no choice. ''I'll wait.''

''Very well. '' Maiya-san nodded. ''Now onto our next problem.''

''... There's more?'' I asked with a sigh, the whole situation was already very tiring.

''Of course there's more.'' Sella answered my question, she seemed rather bitter than she normally is. ''Shirou do you recall what happen? What that man did to us? But most importantly, do you remember what you did to him?''

Oh bloody hell...

I couldn't resist the sudden realization that hit me and did a perfect face-palm to myself. Man how could I be so stupid!?

I was so upset about the Kiritsugu thing that I actually forgot the whole crazy blood wielding psychopath and me going all dual sword style on him. ''So...'' I started, not knowing how to ask this without sounding completely insane. ''... Magic is real?''

''Pretty much.'' Liz replied as if she was telling me how the weather is outside.

I decided to seek a more satisfying answer from Sella, she still seemed a little awkward when I looked at her. ''Rather than just say that magic alone is real, it's more precisely to say that the mythology and supernatural itself is real.''

Hhhmm... ''What?'' Nope, I don't have a clue what she is talking about.

''It's just as you hear it Shirou, most of supernatural and mythology beings are real. Like vampires, angels, dragons, fallen angels, fairies, devils, werewolves, youkai, even gods exist.'' Iri elaborated while counting on her fingers.

''Seriously?'' I somehow had a hard time believing what she was telling me... I think any normal sane person would have a rough time buying it. ''Ok so what exactly was the guy that attacked me and Sella?''

I heard a shuffling noise and looked to Maiya-san, she was holding a notebook of some kind. ''Andrei Neculai, nationality Romanian, age thirty five, unmarried, no children, the seventh head of the Neculai household, due to his ancestor strong connections to the vampire society he created a branch of magic based on plasma manipulation, a branch which resembles magecraft more than magic, which his descendant Andrei inherited when he was named the new head.'' She paused and flipped the next page. ''Approximately two years ago his little brother Octavian was attempting to create a ritual that in theory should slow the natural ageing rate of a human. For that he required the blood of about fifty new born infants. Due to the unethical part of his ritual, one of his collaborators had revealed what he was intending to do. In response Kiritsugu Emiya was hired to take him out, which he did.''

She flipped another page. ''His family understood the gravity of his action and pressed no further charges, his brother however demanded the life of the man that killed his brother. No amends of any kind have been made in the name of his brother due to the fact that it was all his fault to begin. Shortly after Andrei Neculai had vanished and nothing has been heard of him for the next two years.''

She closes the book and looks seriously at me. ''Any questions?''

Ok... I always thought Maiya-san is more of the silent type, but seeing her read and talk like that has somewhat made me want to reconsider my opinion about her. Thought the way she read it and the way she handles everything so strictly and professional made a single question pop in my mind. ''Are you a spy Maiya-san?'' I asked her with a straight. I know that it sounds ridiculous, but at the same time it sounds less ridiculous than the situation I'm going through right now.

Everyone present at the table stared at me like I was a metaphorical 'elephant in the room'. Iri and Sella actually started laughing, heck even Liz is smirking. ''Don't be ridiculous Shirou-kun, how could I be a spy?'' She commented with a straight face, of course she isn't, how could I be so stupid. ''I'm an assassin.''

I really need to start observing what's going on around me... I mean dad and Maiya-san are assassin, who knows what... wait!

I slowly look at Iri, Liz and Sella, I couldn't help but feel awkward asking them. ''Please, don't tell me that you're assassins too?''

''Nope, the three of us are homunculus.'' Liz commented, well that's better I guess... I don't have any idea what a homunculus is though.

''That aside Shirou, we have one more little problem on the hand.'' Iri told, smiling awkward at me and fidgeting her fingers.

I have a bad feeling about this. ''You call something like this little?!'' Maiya-san asked my mother with a rather annoyed face.

''I'm only trying to break it down to him in a more positive way,'' Iri snarled at the black haired woman.

''Positive way? Just what is positive about this whole situation?'' she returned the snarl to Iri.

''Hey, at least I'm trying to not make too much of drama of this!'' she almost yelled at Maiya-san as she got up from her seat.

''Maybe if you were more careful this wouldn't have happened in the first place!'' she decided to do her game and get up and return her scream.

I could see sparks appearing between the two women.

 _Oh boy!_

I instinctively hid under the table. If there's one thing I don't want to be caught in is a cat fight between these two. Last time I did that I ended with stitches...

''Umm, if this is a bad time I could return later.'' I heard voice from the kitchen door, this wasn't any of the people that live in this house, yet it sounds very familiar.

I turned around and saw who it was. My eyes widen exponentially, my mouth hanged a little, wondering what _she_ was doing here. ''Shitori-senpai?'' my voice was slow and confused.

''Good evening Emiya-kun, I see you're feeling better.'' She told me as she stepped in the kitchen, she also bowed respectfully to the others present. When she approached I could see an unusual tense in my family.

Iri sighed and took a step to the side. ''Guess we can continue this outside while she fills him on what happened after he defeat Andrei.'' Iri walked towards senpai, she placed her hand on her shoulder. ''I'm leaving the rest to you Sona-chan~'' she whispered gently to her side. Senpai seemed to stiffen and lose some color in her skin in that moment.

As if they were called, Liz, Sella and Maiya-san all got up and followed Iri. Only senpai and I are left in the room. Both of us stare at each other.

.

.

.

''You seem rather confused.'' She told from the opposite side of the table.

I let out a tired sigh and rested my face on my hand. ''Wow, talk about the understatement of the year. I don't know what's going on, I don't know how you are involved or why you are even here for, and honestly I don't really care anymore. What about you senpai? You were rather pale when my mom talked to you.'' I tried to make a little conversation in an attempt to put order in my thoughts.

''Oh yes, your mother...'' She seemed to stiffen a little. ''Let's just say our first meeting wasn't on the best of occasions.'' Her voice had an unusual tremble to it, something I never saw at her before.

''What do you mean by that?'' I asked confused, just when did my mom and senpai meet in the first place?

''Tell me. Do you remember how your fight with that magician ended?'' she straightened her glasses, her demeanour was now much more serious.

''How it ended?'' I tilted my head confused. ''Well, I remember incapacitating him, freeing Sella, then I...'' my eyes widen in shock as I remembered what happened to me at the end. ''I... d-died?'' I asked no one in particular, I quickly checked my chest, there was no scar. Was that really real? No it had to be, Iri and the others confirmed it.

Wait!

''Umm, this might sound completely retarded or crazy, but did you see or hear anything about a devil by any chance?'' I asked while trying to keep the best straight face I could, heck this sound stupid even to me, but I can't shake the last part that I remembered, the devil touching my face.

She looked at me with a serious face, her eyes not blinking. Guess she doesn't know what to comment at me, we continue to stare at each other, man I sure am stupid to have asked-

Flap!

From her back two black wings appeared, they resemble bat wings. I stared at them for a few moments, a sudden thought screamed in my head, I try to open my mouth to ask her, but no words came out, she saw my reaction and simply nodded her head.

Ok...

 _What. The. Hell?!_

* * *

''So you're a devil?'' I asked, something tells me I had a deadpanned expression on my face.

''Yes.''

''And you are the one that saved me?''

''Exactly.''

''Ok... out of curiosity. Is Souna Shitori your real name?'' I don't even know why I even asked that, guess my mind isn't in the best of states right now.

''Yes and no. Me real name is Sona Sitri, current heiress of the Sitri clan of the seventy-two pillars of hell.'' She said, or rather presented herself. ''But it would gain unwanted attention if a student was named after a famous devil, so I chose to make an alias.''

''Some alias.'' I commented dryly. ''You just change how your normally write it a little and that's about it.''

She didn't seem to take it too well, her glasses shined for a second. ''At least I am trying to keep a low profile, unlike Rias.'' She commented with sigh.

''Rias?'' I tiled my head, what does she have to do with... ''You're kidding me... she a devil too?''

''Yes, she is also the current heir of the Gremory clan, so I would advise you to treat her respectfully. Oh, and before you ask, yes there are other devils at our school. All the current members of the student council and the Occult research club are devils in fact.''

''G-Good to know.'' I nodded slightly, yet I couldn't stop starring at her. ''Sorry, don't take it the wrong way, but I never expected devils to exist, let alone to look so... human.'' I managed to slip out of my mouth, seriously I never in my life did I thought that I will have a talk like this.

''Let me guess. You were expecting an evil creature with red skin, horns, claws, fangs, a tail, and pitch fork, am I right?'' she asked me curiously as she straightened her glasses.

Does she read minds? ''Well... kinda.''

''Common misconception. While there are some devils who sport sharp pointy ears or horns, we in general are identical to humans in appearance.'' She explained.

''Oh, I see.'' I nodded slightly, so devils look like humans, who would have known?

Guess I should go down to business. ''So... what will it be?'' I asked, preparing my resolution.

''Pardon?'' she looked confused at me.

''You did save my life senpai, so that means that I made a deal with a devil, right? So what do you want in exchange? My heart? My soul?'' I asked very carefully, in most books that I read devil usually demand something outrages like the soul.

She stared at me with deadpanned expression before sighing. ''A piece of advice Emiya-kun, throw away all of the knowledge you had about devils because most of it is useless.''

''Huh?''

''Devils don't steal or collect souls anymore, nowadays devils make contracts of mutual interest with humans and other creature in exchange for payment or other advantages.'' Oh, that sounds more reasonable.

''So my soul isn't dammed?'' I inquire, maybe there is still some hope left after all.

''It is actually.'' She corrected, well there goes my hope.

''Didn't you say you didn't want my soul?''

''I did, but you became dammed the moment I resurrected you.''

Ok... I took a few moments to digest what she just said. ''...Mind rewinding a little, I think I heard you say something about resurrecting.''

''I did. Emiya-kun, you died from that battle. You lost too much blood, and the technique that man used on his magic contained a curse that was preventing normal healing from working on you. You were beyond saving.'' She told me, so that explains why the weird pain I was going through when he slashed me, and how I died. But that doesn't explain one thing.

''Ok... so how come I am alive and well right now?'' I asked, I hardly doubt that I am a ghost.

''Because of this.'' She told me as she pulled out flyer out of her pocket. I knew that flyer.

''Isn't this the flyer that Gremory-senpai gave me?'' I looked curiously at, something seemed different about it. Wait. ''No, wait, this one is blue, hers was red.''

''The flyer you received from her was cut in half when that man slashed you with his sword. Her flyer wouldn't have worked.'' She moved her hand to the side, in it was now the book she gave me last time. ''Call it coincidence, but I sometimes use my flyers as book marks, so because I wasn't careful I forgot one of my flyers in the book I lent you. It was because of it that you summoned me.''

''I see.'' I nodded shapelessly, weird, normally I have a very bad luck, but I guess I was lucky this time, I wonder just how many years' worth of luck I lost. ''And just how did you resurrect me exactly?'' I asked skeptical, just because she explained how she got here doesn't explain how she saved me.

She didn't respond and just waved her hand, a small blue circle appeared in the air. From that circle a small object appeared, I knew what it was. ''A chess piece?''

''This, Emiya-kun, is what we devils call an Evil Piece.'' She gestured to chess piece.

''Evil piece?'' I asked carefully, I may be paranoid, but I don't think something with evil in its name can be a very good thing.

''Perhaps a small briefing about devils in general might be necessary.'' She nodded to herself. ''You see Emiya-kun, devils have a very low birth rate, only two or three children in a few centuries if the couple is lucky. There was a period when the devil race was dying out and one of most eminent figures, Ajuka Beelzebub created the evil piece system as a way to replenish our race. In short, evil pieces have the ability to resurrected a nearly deceased person, or convert a living being into a devil.''

Her last words made the blood in my veins go cold, my hand somehow reached for my face touching it very carefully. ''S-So... I'm a devil?''

She was silent for a few moments, she stared to the side. ''I'm not sure.''

''Huh?'' I almost bit my tongue when I heard. I didn't even realized that I jumped out of my seat and slapped my hands on the table. '' What do you mean you're not sure?!''

She sighed tiredly, not affected at all by my little outburst. ''Don't look at me like that, all of my other peerage members I personally asked if they wished to join me. You are the one and only person I resurrected back from the dead.''

''Oh gee, that makes me feel very special.'' I snarled at her, she wasn't really making too much sense to me.

''Let's make a test then. Try to open your wings.'' She told me with a rather annoyed look, guess I wasn't the only one having a bad day.

Oh well, I could try and humour her but there is one small problem. ''How do I do that?''

''It very simple, you just think about making them appear. Devil wings are like a second pair of limbs.'' She said, making it sound like it similar to flicking your fingers.

I closed my eyes and concentrate. Wings. Wings. Wings. I opened my eyes and looked behind my shoulder. Figures. ''Nothing...''

''Exactly. That's the very point, devil wings sprout out of the back involuntary when one is converted in a devil, but in your case that didn't happened. In fact there are many reincarnated devils that have a hard time keeping them hidden.'' She sighed. ''That aside, there were also some other unpredictable factors.''

Should I even I ask? ''Such as?''

''I can barely feel any demonic power from you, and that's when I'm concentrating very hard to feel it. Normally with training it's quite easy to learn to hide it, but it impossible for one to be able to hide it at this extent just after they have been resurrected.''

I don't really see the problem here, shouldn't it be a good thing that I could hide it? ''Is it really such a big deal?''

''Of course it is. If you aren't suppressing it yourself then it means that something else is. If that truly is the case it may cause you trouble in the future.'' she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

''Maybe I'm just a weird case.'' I whispered to myself.

''That's certain.'' She commented, wait how did she hear me? ''While I don't know what exactly, I know for sure that something happened during the resurrection process.''

''Like what?''

She sighed. ''Ok, listen carefully. When Evil pieces are used they have a certain pattern they follow.''

She raised her index finger. ''First. They make sure the body suitable, by that they heal any major wounds that the corpse has. Also if the corpse is missing limbs or the head, you must first reattach them before using the pieces.''

Guess that's why that huge wound on my chest is gone. She raised now her middle finger. ''Second. Now that the body is usable again, the evil piece reattaches, or reconnects the soul back to the body. The soul of a being doesn't vanish or disappear the moment its body dies, it will still linger around the corpse for a small amount of time.''

Interesting. I did hear stories that the human soul still lingers around even after its death, maybe that's why some people claimed that certain object or places were haunted by the soul of a certain person. She continued and raised her ring finger. ''Third. The body is then augmented, it's very structure is changed and enhanced in order for the body to handle demonic energy that will soon fill it.''

Now that she mentions it, my body does feel surprisingly stronger. She raised now her pinkie finger. ''Forth. The body is filled with demonic energy and converts the person into a devil. The person gains that powers and characteristics of a devil.''

So that how it works. I was expecting something scarier and horrifying to be honest. She now raised her thumb and final finger. ''Fifth and final. The person is bounded to the master that resurrected him, registering him as a member of the respective peerage.''

''Peerage?'' I think she mentioned it before.

''It's a group of devils, serving under a devil that acts as a King. Each King is allowed a maximum of fifteen servants, as reflected in classic chess, but we can cover this up later.'' She explained. ''Now here is the part that made me realize something went wrong. During the 3rd and 4th steps your body began convulsing and shaking, mana leaking everywhere from it. It eventually calmed down and the ritual was finished, but I never heard of something like this happening.''

I swallowed a big chunk of air as I listened to her. ''Seriously? So you have no idea whats wrong with me?''

''I'm afraid not.'' She apologized. ''But don't worry, I requested an audience with Ajuka-sama himself, however as one of the leaders of hell, as well as the Chief Advisor for the Technology Department you can imagine that he is a very busy man, so it will a few weeks until he can see you. If there is someone who can figure out what is wrong it's without a doubt him.''

I made a support using my arms and buried my face into my hands. ''This day keeps getting better and better. I find out that my family's been keeping secrets from me, the supernatural is real, my senpai is a devil, and I'm so kind of pseudo-devil. What's next? Will the guy I sometimes eat ramen with turn out to be some kind of dragon warrior battle junkie?''

''I highly doubt that would be the case.'' She commented.

''Yeah, that would be ridiculous.'' I let out a dry and tired chuckled, as if Vali could be like that.

For the next few minutes there was a dead silence between us. I looked into her eyes, they seemed sad.

''I'm sorry.'' She apologized, her eyes were drifting to the side. ''Please believe me Emiya-kun, I never wanted things to turn out like this.''

I didn't like the way her eyes looked, she looks so ashamed. ''Hey it's ok. I may be a little overwhelmed by what's happening, and how fast all of it it is, but it's not like it's your fault to begin with.''

''It is my fault.'' She whispered in a sad tone. ''This town is territory under my families jurisdiction, I am responsible for any supernatural activity that happens here. If I was more careful perhaps that man wouldn't have had the time to sneak around, if I would have responded to your call more quickly, or if I carried a healing item, then perhaps the was still a chance to save you.''

Oh man, I don't really like where this is going. ''H-Hey I said its ok, I was the one that wanted to live remember, if there is anyone to blame it's me for fighting reckless or not calling you in time.''

She smiled at me, though her smile seemed tired and bitter. ''This is why I didn't want to involve you in the supernatural. You are way to kind Emiya-kun, and the world I live in is much more dangerous and harder then you can imagine.''

She sighed and rested her head against the chair. ''If I truly wanted to recruit you in my peerage, I would have asked you a long time ago, but I somehow enjoyed our current relationship, that of two schoolmates without any kind of obligation to the other. It felt rather relaxing just chatting with you, swapping books and comparing opinions.'' She looked at me, a lone smile formed on her lips. ''Such a curious feeling. I should be thrilled that I now have such an interesting servant. But I can't help but feel rather bad about it.''

''Can't you cancel this thing, or can't I just walk away if don't enjoy this situation.'' I tried to somehow cheer her up, even if she is a devil, she is still the girl I spent afternoons with, trading books and debating about them.

''You can't.'' She told me with a cold voice. ''Reincarnated devils need an adjustment period for their new demonic powers. Without a proper king to regulate and maintain their power, the devil may end up consumed by his own power, twisted and turned into a monster we call a stray devil. A monster that may hurt or even kill his loved ones. If I take into account your unusual circumstances of resurrection, there's no telling what may happen to you, should you go stray.''

I gulped hard, I really don't want to become some kind of monster. ''I-Is that so? Oh well guess I will just have to settle as your servant.'' I laughed nervously.

''This isn't a laughing matter. Your whole life has now changed.'' She snapped at me, her voice being harsher than before.

''I guess so.'' I admitted as I scratched the back of my head. ''But this is what I asked for remember. I have to take responsibility for my choices.''

''I would have preferred if you made your choice under less life threatening conditions.'' She sighed and rubbed her the bridge of her nose.

''So... where does this whole thing lead us?'' I asked, not sure what to say anymore. ''Whether if we like it or not, I am now your servant. So what are we gonna do about it?''

''For now I guess it's best to take things slow and teach you about the supernatural.'' She waved her hand to the side and a book materialized. ''This is a guide book I wrote a while back. Even though there are some many reincarnated devils, no one has ever bothered to write a guide book for newly reincarnated devils.'' She handed me the book. ''Try to study as much as you can from it, it will help you to understand the world you live in now.''

She got up and walked in the middle of the room. ''I must go now. Tomorrow you can meet your new comrades.'' She told me, a blue circle began manifesting under her feet, illuminating the whole room.

No. Wait!

''Senpai!'' I called to her, I couldn't let her leave like this. She turned around and looked curiously at me. ''I'm really not holding it against you for all of this, so cheer up.'' I tried to reassure her, while this whole situation make me want to bash my head into a wall, I really can't hate her for it.

She looked at me with an astonished expression, as her body was slowly disappearing in the air. ''Truly, you are too kind for your own good.'' She whispered gently as she disappeared.

Just like that, she was gone, and so was my smile. I took a moment and buried my face into my palms. Just what kind of messed up turn did my life just take?

So many secrets... so many lies... so many questions... and yet I can't seem to find the strength to face them... at least not now.

My head feels so heavy. Too many mind-blowing information in a single day seem to have such an effect on me.

I got up, put the book she gave me under my arm and went straight to my room. I ignored Illya and Miyu who just woke up and were complaining of headaches. I also ignored the noise of Iri and Maiya-san arguing outside like a pair of high school girls.

I crashed in my bed and let the softness of my pillow envelop my face.

It's been a long and crazy day.

 **''I agree.''**

My body arched up in shock. Who was that?!

After looking around I realized that I was all alone in the room.

Just what's going on?

Did I imagine it?

Was this whole fiasco affecting me more than I believed?

If so... why did the voice seem so familiar?

Just like that... all of my sleepiness was gone. I sighed and opened the book that senpai gave me. Might as well see what I just got myself involved in.

''Basic history. Chapter 1: The First Fall.''

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Bwuahahahahaha!'' Taiga laughed her ass off on the floor of the dojo. ''I can't believe this, was I the only one who got trolled and believed that Rias will be Shirou's master?!'' she asked Illya and Miyu who were reading the chapter.

''Guess that's why Ray blurred some words in the last chapter. At least we know why Rias didn't get called.'' Miyu comment as she flipped the page.

''Phew, if he made Rias the master, things would have gotten really bad.'' Illya sighed and whipped the sweat off her forehead.

''Weren't a lot of things left hanged in the air in this chapter the way they were explained?'' Miyu asked confused, wondering why the author didn't give Kiritsugu's full background and why he didn't give a proper explanation about the supernatural and magecraft.

''Fool.'' Taiga cut the papers Miyu was holding with her cursed shinai. ''A true writer doesn't reveal everything from the start, he slowly reveals things as the story progresses, increasing the readers curiosity. You could call it 'reader teasing'.'' She declared with a proud face.

''That sounds weird instructor.'' Illya commented.

''Silly girl, you have a long way until you can comprehend true art!'' Taiga commented as she looked at the sky while pointing her shinai to it.

''If comprehending art turns me into you, I would rather stay ignorant.'' Illya commented under her breath.

''What was that?!'' Taiga roared.

''N-Nothing, hahaha.'' Illya laughed nervously, trying to avoid Taiga's wrath.

''Instructor.'' Miyu called out to the shinai wielding woman.

''What's up with those papers?'' Taiga pointed out to the large number of papers that Miyu was holding.

''These are last chapter complaints and rants.'' she explained as she put them in front of Taiga.

''You don't say~'' she growled in annoyance. The next moment she shattered them using her shinai, the cursed weapon purring in satisfaction. ''Don't need any of them!''

''That was harsh instructor.'' Miyu commented.

''The WORLD is harsh!'' Taiga roared.

''Would you look at that, we are out of time!'' Illya said as looked at the clock.

''What?! But I didn't get the chance to rant about the chapter!'' Taiga roared in anger.

''Stay tuned for the next chapter 'Daily life with devils and mages'!'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **Muahahahahahahha! Did you really believe that I was gonna make Shirou the servant of Rias?!**

 **While some of you guessed that he will be Sona's servant, there were way too many who thought I was making him join the Gremory team. Who could blame you, I mean I did write it off so it would seem like Rias would get him. Dude it feels so good to troll people. Now I know why Zelretch loves doing it. Why do you even think I did the **** parts? It was to create confusion.**

 **Anyway I'm honestly surprised on the big number of reviews on the first chapter. Didn't expect even half of them, guess I'm getting popular (lol just kidding).**

 **Now let's read some of the reviews and see what you wrote me.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Man talk about complaints... I mean I was expecting some ranting about the fact that I made it look that Shirou became a devil, but honestly I didn't expect that more than half of the reviews I got to be complains... but I guess I should have expected that.**

 **(Reads more reviews): Seriously? Some of you guys already drop this story from the first chapter just because you thought I made Shirou a devil?... talk about being salty...**

 **But here is an interesting thing, is Shirou really a devil? Just something to chew on while reading the story.**

 **Also, as I said before, this story shares elements from the Prisma Illya verse, but that doesn't mean that they are the same.**

 **I just want you all to remember this small detail, not everything is what it first seems in this story. So if you guys think you figured the story and know everything that will happen, well think again, cuz this author is gonna wreck the Fate/Dxd crossover section with a lot of crazy shit.**

 **Also I want to get one thing straight. A lot of people that have read Guardian of DxD told me that the story was going really well and all, and that this story won't have the same good path that it had.**

 **Well might as well give you a piece of information about Guardian of DxD, more precisely the ending that I had planned for it. Let's just say you would have nagged at me a lot. Why? Because in the ending of Guardian of DxD, Shirou Emiya was going to die. He was gonna sacrifice himself in the final battle, so that humanity, the supernatural and his friends could live. It was gonna be a bitter sweet ending. (No, seriously. This was really gonna be the ending of Guardian of DxD, im not just making this stuff up)**

* * *

 **Special announcement: (insert ta-da-da sound and flashing lights)**

 **I've been thinking of trying to create a more diverse list of weapons Shirou will use in the future, so for that I checked the on Wikipedia for weapons in myth, legend, folklore etc. and I noticed that there are quite a number of interesting weapons.**

 **But the problem is that Noble phantasm have deep symbolic meaning and bond to their owners respective legends, so I can't just go on and create random powers for weapons that there was no way for them to possess powers like that. Plus I don't really have the time to study weapons history...**

 **So I thought of an idea. Why not make a type of contest?**

 **By that, I mean that any reader could create a noble phantasm that involves a weapon (no non-weapon Np since there's no point since Shirou can't use it) and post a review with it.**

 **Any Np that I found interesting and its power are contained within the Fate/Stay night world, I can choose and use it in my story (don't worry, I will give credit to the creator)**

 **But if anyone wants to write me an Np, there are some condition they must respect.**

 **1\. You must give a description about the said weapon, not just the weapons name.**

 **2\. You can't make the weapon too broken or OP. It can have a cool or rather op power, but give it some kind condition or something that needs to be fulfilled in order for the power to work.**

 **3\. I would appreciate if you justified the powers you give the weapon, and give me a small history about it. Also you can use already existing noble phantasm on the typemoon wiki, but use one that doesn't have a full description about itself or which powers haven't been fully revealed. (ex. Dáinsleif, Durandal, Gram, Harpe, Merodach,Vajra)**

 **4\. You can also create a special attack or for the weapon if you want. But like before expand on it. (Like how Gae bolg has two forms:**

 **Gáe Bolg: Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death Anti-Unit**

 **Gáe Bolg: Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death Anti-Army)**

 **P.S. Passive type Np are very welcomed (like Gae Dearg and Gae Buidhe)**

 **To help here is scheme to use:**

 **Name:**

 **Owner: (if the weapon had one)**

 **History/Description:**

 **Effect/Powers:**

 **Type:**

 **Rank:**

 **Range:**

 **Maximum number of targets:**

* * *

 **Now let's answer some questions:**

 **-Neema Amiry: I wouldn't say that so quickly if I were you**

 **-Kinunatzs The Eternal: As you read in this chapter, I bitch slapped Rias, like hell she deserves to have Shirou!**

 **-Hunter XZ: I wouldn't worry about the plot. I have an idea for an interesting approach. While the idea will be the same from one point, the story will develop from a different angle. Kind of how the routes in the Visual novel work.**

 **-Gp08: The weak minded part is needed to show his change and growth. Cookie for you, let's just say Shirou will start acting more like him, and reach a mindscape like that of the FSN Shirou. Shirou can never project Ea no matter how strong he is, it's because Ea's materials came from a meteorite that hit the earth. He can never synthesis the materials needed for making it because they no longer exist. It somewhat similar to making him understand something that he doesn't even know that it exist.**

 **-BloodWolf752: While I can't go into details, let's just say that Archer won't be the only servant making an appearance.**

 **-Endless Sorcerer : It's your choice. Though I would call it a hasty one.**

 **-Sion Astal: Seriously?... Dude check Akeno. She was a fallen angel hybrid before getting reincarnated. She literally had holy element (I know that the power she inherited is actually holy lightening, but is still damn HOLY) flowing in her veins, and it didn't affect her at all when she became a devil. I mean it sounds more illogic to have a devil wielding holy element itself, than a devil wielding a holy sword.**

 **-victimsofrage: Don't be so sure about that.**

 **P.S. I know I haven't specified which Evil piece Shirou is, or how many he consumed, but don't worry it will be revealed next chapter.**

 **So then until next!**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	3. Daily life with Devils and Mages

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _Whenever I see a group of high school kids these days simply sitting together, chatting without a care in the world, I remember._

 _I remember that there was a time when I was like them._

 _Those people..._

 _They helped me learn to laugh again._

 _But I once again forgotten how to laugh._

 _I can now only smile bitterly as I remember the people I called my friends._

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

 **Daily life with devils and mages**

* * *

Just how did I end up here?

 _Blood_... So much dark red blood, splattered everywhere, some of it still fresh, while other coagulated and dry.

Am I dreaming?

 _Corpses_... So many lifeless bodies, dismembered, disemboweled, mutilated. Already beginning to rot away in the heat surrounding them, flies and other insects dancing around their decomposing parts, using their lifeless carcasses as an incubator for their larva.

I am sure I feel asleep in my room, and yet...

 _Arrows_... Piercing the bodies of the dead. Vital shots. Meant to instantly kill a person without prolonging his suffering. Most of them ran through the two main human vitals, the heart and brain.

How did I end up in this horrible place?

There's only death around me. Under my feet there's the sand of the desert that I am currently finding myself in. Sand soaked with the blood of the corpses that surround me. Men, most in their prime, some looked like they just graduated high school, but all of them are armed with different types of firearms... terrorist perhaps?

 _''Shirou...''_

I can't be sure... I can't ask them since their dead... all of them killed with arrows and judging by their other wounds, by swords.

 _''Shirou wake up.''_

I saw hell.

 _''Shirou come one, wake up.''_

My body tried to move my body, something poked my right side as I tried. I looked at my right hand, there is dark bow in it. My eyes widen as I made a connection between the dead men and me.

 _''He isn't waking up.''_

 _''Then time for plan B~''_

Did I kill them? Why? Why would I kill them? Why like this? I don't understand?

But most important of all... why is it that I don't feel affected by this at all?

Am I- Buahhh!

* * *

My body jumped out of the bed as I felt a wet stinging sensation all over my body. I look at myself and saw that I was drenched from my head to toes in cold water. At first I dreaded at the thought of the possibility of me having an _accident_ , but I quickly dropped that idea when I saw Iri and Liz in my room. Liz holding an empty bucket in her hand.

''Morning Shirou~'' Iri greeted me with cheerful smile, Liz just waved her hand.

''What the hell do you think you're doing?'' I asked them, my tone was just as cold as my clothes were. I never considered myself a morning person, but I highly doubt I needed a freaking bucket of ice cold water to wake me up!

''Bad!'' Iri did a karate chop on my head. ''Is that the kind of language you should use around your mother Shirou?''

I rubbed the place she hit me. It may hurt a little, but it's nothing compared to slap she gave yesterday. Now that I think about it, it's better this way. At least she seems to be back to her usual cheerful self. ''Yeah, sorry.'' I apologized as I got up from my bed. The water was dripping from me on the floor. ''Now would you be so kind and tell why you woke me up at 6 A.M. with a bucket of water to top it?''

''Training.'' Liz stated simply.

''Training?'' I asked confused, as always I can never get past Liz's perfect poker face.

''Yep.'' Iri confirmed cheerfully as she threw me a pair of dry clothes and a towel. ''You see Shirou we thought about it long and hard, and decided that you will require help considering your new devil crisis.'' She explained in an upbeat way.

A rather crude way to describe the crazy stuff I been going through the past days, but I guess the word 'crisis' sounds unusually appropriate. I sighed tiredly. ''Fine, fine I get it.'' I tugged my wet shirt with the intention of taking it off, but stopped as I looked at the present audience. ''Can I at least change in peace?'' I asked them a bit awkward, it didn't help the way that Liz usually stares.

''Oh~ is someone feeling shy? I don't mind leaving, but maybe Liz wanted to stay and look.'' She teased with half-lidded eyes. I take it back, with the risk of getting slapped I want the serious Iri from yesterday! '' J-Just leave me alone!'' I shouted at them, Iri running out of my room laughing, dragging Liz with her. I could've swore Liz made a pouting sound when she left.

* * *

After drying myself up and putting some warm clothes on I decided to go on with their so called training. I noticed that they weren't in the house so I went outside to look for them. When I found them, I wasn't expecting to find them like this.

For one thing Iri is wearing a magenta hakama, a pink haori, a pair of black armguards, her hair is tied in a ponytail, and she is holding a naginata. Well that wasn't the most shocking part as that was the same naginata that she hangs above her bed.

Rather the most shocking part came from Liz. While she wasn't dresses in anything weird, just a rather tight track suit, it was what she was holding that made sweat in confusion. ''Liz...'' I began, my finger slowly pointing to the thing in her hand. ''What's that?''

''My halberd.'' She responded casually as she pointed it to me. It was easily two heads longer than her, the metal on the blade seemed to be from a white metal, and over the blade there is a red marking painted on it.

''Your halberd...'' I repeated after her, not even sure how I should react.

''My halberd.'' She nodded, I could somehow see some glint of pride in her eyes, like a small spark.

''Just where have you been keeping that thing?'' I'm surprised that I could ask her this with a straight face.

''Under my bed.'' She answer simply, as if i was asking her something very normal, like what time it is.

.

.

.

You know what, screw it. I don't care anymore how she managed to keep that thing in the house without me or Illya finding it, nor am I asking her how she able to lift that thing since it's way bigger than she is!

Though I have to admit it is a pretty impressive piece of weaponry.

''So what is this training you were talking about?'' I asked Iri who seemed to be in a cheerful mood, wonder if it's because of those new clothes.

''I'm glad you asked Shirou.'' She chirped as she pointed her naginata at me. You shouldn't point sharp things like that though. ''Starting from today, the three of us, plus Maiya, are going to train you and make you a proper fighter.''

''Umm...'' I began, not sure how to say this. ''I don't want to burst your bubble, but Maiya-san isn't here, also there's only two of you.''

Iri sighed tiredly. ''Yeah I know, Maiya said she needs to get her gear in order to train you, and we're only two since Sella is feeling a little depressed.''

''Wait, what's wrong with Sella?'' I asked quickly, I did notice that Sella seemed rather off yesterday when we talked about this whole situation. I initially thought she was just tired... guess it was more than that.

''She will be fine.'' Iri told me, even though she was still smilling her eyes drifted to the side. ''She just needs some time to get used to the idea.''

Idea? What is she talking about?

''Anyway.'' She tapped the wooden part of the naginata in the ground. ''The basic idea is that Sella will be in charge of your magic training, Maiya will in charge of your combat training, and Liz will be your sparring partner.''

For some reason the part about Sella teaching me magic sounds appropriate, maybe it's because of her strict teacher like personality. The same can be said about Maiya-san, her rather drill like sergeant personality and her dull sense of fashion makes it sound ok for her to teach me combat. But the last part...

''You want me to fight Liz?'' I asked a bit perplexed, sure Liz is a little stronger than the average female, but still.

''Don't worry, all I want is just some light sparring to see how well you fare in battle.'' Iri explained.

That didn't really answer my question. ''I don't know about this. I wouldn't want to hurt Liz.'' I admitted as I scratched my head, truth be told I wouldn't want to hurt anyone.

Iri stared at me for a few seconds, then exploded into an intense laughter. ''Oh Shirou~, you won't be doing the hurting.''

I looked confused for a few seconds, not understanding what she meant. The answer arrived the next second as Liz jumped forward and was right in front of me. ''I'm pretty strong.'' She commented nonchalantly as she began her attack.

* * *

''Hey Shirou, you alive?'' Liz asked casually as she poked my face with her finger.

My head, no, my legs, no, my arms... oh screw it, there isn't a part of my body that isn't currently screaming in agony from the one side beat down I received from Liz. How can so much strength come from a woman of her stature is far beyond me.

I am not a martial arts experts or one with a deep experience when it comes to fighting, but I can tell some stuff apart. Liz didn't use a fighting style or anything too complicated, she just keep hitting me until I stopped standing up. I should be thankful at thankful that she used the dull part of the weapon on me.

''Well, that certainly was boring.'' Iri commented with a sigh as she continued to heal my bruises. I was really shocked when her hands began glowing, but I was feeling too beat up to even move or protest. It was when the pain started reducing little by little that I realized what she was doing. Apparently 'healing magecraft' as she called it, is one of the specialties of the Einzbern house.

''There, all done.'' She chirped as she got up and gave me some space to move. I lifted myself and I was surprised. While I am still tired from the sparring itself, the bruises and cuts made by Liz are now gone.

''So,'' I began, bending my neck to the side, a sore crack sound resonated in it. ''How did I do?''

She put her index finger on her lower lip and made a thinking sound. ''You suck Shirou.'' She told me without any restraint. ''But since it was only a sparring I will let it slide. I hope Maiya can drill some fighting technique into you.''

I sighed in defeat. I never considered myself a fighting expert, but I know how to hold my ground in a fight, so it feels rather embarrassing getting beat up like this. ''Why did you suddenly want me to train like this?''

''Shirou.'' Her smiled dropped and was replaced by a serious look. ''I already talked to Sella, you somehow managed to awaken a power that allowed you to beat that stray magician. You did that on your first try and without any kind formal training. It may have worked that time, but there is a very high chance that you won't be so lucky next time.''

She walked in front of me and placed her hand over my shoulder. ''We believed that keeping you in the shadow about the supernatural was for the best, we clearly were wrong. We may have failed to protect you when you needed it, but this time we will try our best to be there for you. We may not be able to protect you all the time, so the least we can do is help you get stronger.''

I stared in her eyes for a few moments... I guess she is right. My memories from the fight are a little hazy right now, but I know for a fact that I used some kind of power. A power which I don't know how to use should the situation arrive. I should try to learn to take care of myself.

If not for my sake, at least for theirs.

''I understand.'' I acknowledged as I rubbed my neck. I took a deep breath and looked at the sky. The sun was already up. ''What time is it?''

Iri looked at the watch on her hand. ''It's 7:30.''

''Are we done? I still have school you know.'' I told them with a sigh, the last thing I want is getting chewed by my teachers for being late.

''Yep, and remember we're doing this again tomorrow at the same hour.'' She puffed her chest and hit the ground with the hilt of the naginata.

''Yeah, yeah.'' I commented as I walked away. Supernatural or not, I still can't grasp Iri personality.

I really need to take a shower. Who would've thought that getting your ass kicked can make you seat like this.

As I entered the house and went to the stairs, I noticed that someone was going down on them. ''Morning Sella.'' I greeted her with a smile.

The moment she saw me she seemed to flinch, her eyes drifting to the side. ''M-Morning.'' She greeted me in a tired and sad tone.

Iri did say that she seemed rather depressed but still, this isn't like her at all. ''Sella is everything ok?'' I asked her, the concern was obvious from my voice.

''Everything is fine. '' she said in an almost whisper like tone as she passed next to me.

My eyes watched as her frail looking body made its way to the kitchen. Even if you say that you are fine... why did your eyes look like they wanted to cry when you saw me?

Just what is bothering you Sella?

* * *

Salt.

The pastry that I'm eating needs more salt. It was getting late and after I took a quick shower I didn't have time to have a proper breakfast, so I had to pick up something fast from a local bakery.

As I munched at my rather inconsistent breakfast I arrived at the school gate. I stopped chewing when I stepped in the school grounds.

Weird...

That's the only way I can describe the sensation I'm having. I can feel something, but I don't know what it is. It's like I know that there's something unusual here, but I can't tell what it is or what the source is. All I know is that it's making my nose feel uncomfortable.

Maybe I should ask Shitori-senpai.

I brush off those thoughts as I heard the school bell. I'm not gonna be late today!

I sighed as I stretched myself in my seat. Kuzuki-sensei's lessons are as difficult and boring as usual, nothing new there. But I guess some boring and quiet lessons are what I need right now after the mayhem that I've been through the past days.

I rubbed my tired eyes. I stayed up late last night reading the book that senpai gave me. It certainly was enlightening so to say. I'm in much bigger shit that I imagined, that's for sure.

''Hello earth to Emiya!'' my thoughts were cut off by the person behind me. I leaned by head on the edge of the chair and looked at the person. It's always interesting to see things upside down.

''Hi Mitsuzuri.'' I greeted my old friend causally.

''What gives, I've been calling you all weekend and you haven't called back.'' She complained, she looked at me for a few seconds and let out a whistle. ''Wow, you look like hell. What happened, did you get lucky with a girl last night?'' she smirked amused at me.

''Real funny.'' I rolled my eyes. ''I've been busy. '' Getting attacked by homicidal magicians and getting dragged into the supernatural world tends to make you busy.

''Someone sure is grumpy today.'' She leaned against her desk, her head was above mine. You should try getting up with a bucket of cold water before the sun has even risen. It sure is a nice way to start the day. ''Anyway did you hear the latest achievements of the perverted-trio?''

I could already feel my eyes twitch. ''What did they do this time?''

''They were caught peeping in the girls locker room again, but the funny part is that they tried sneaking in the air system and their combined weight was too much. Next thing they knew the three of them crashed right into the middle of the girls that were changing.''

My eyes half closed and a shiver went down my spine. ''That must have ended badly.''

''Pretty much. You should also take into count that the girls that were changing were from the karate club.'' She smiled amused at the boy's misery.

''Ouch.'' It hurt only to think about it, I don't want to imagine what they went through.

''While I don't have any personal grudge against them, they do seem to deserve it. '' she sighed bored.

''No personal grudge you say?'' I rolled my eyes at her. ''Then what about that time when you caught them peeking at you and the other members of the archery club?'' A small smirk formed on my lips. ''Weren't you the one who tried to snipe them down with the practice arrows?''

''That was different!'' she protested, her cheeks forming a small amount of pink in them.

It's always interesting to see a reaction like this from Mitsuzuri. ''I'm sure it was.'' I smirked at her.

''Hmm!'' she puffed her cheeks and turned to the side. Did I just made her angry?

''I'm bored. Want to go for a walk?'' she asked after about a minute of awkward silence.

Truth to be told, I am rather bored myself, plus I'm feeling kind of sleepy, so a walk might put some life in my tired eyes. ''Sure, why no-''

''Sorry about this Mitsuzuri, but we will be borrowing Emiya for a while.'' The moment I heard those words two pair of arms locked around my own.

I looked puzzled at the people who were invading my personal space. The person holding on my left arm is a girl with long brown hair tied in a pair of braids and matching set of light brown eyes. She is also sporting a blue headband.

She is my classmate Kusaka Reya, her desk also happens to be in front of mine, but we don't really talk that much. From what I could notice from her interactions with my other classmates she seems like a very polite person.

On my right arm is a girl with wavy white hair and blue-green eyes. Unlike Iri or Illya who have snow white hair, hers has a small tinge of blue to it, I guess it could be called frost white.

Her name is Momo Hanakai, just like Kusaka she is also my classmate, but unlike her she sits in the desk on my right side. I haven't really had too much interaction with her as well, but I can tell that she gets along fairly well with my other classmates.

I narrowed my eyes to the two girls that are currently locked onto my arms. ''What's going on?'' Somehow Mitsuzuri just asked them what I wanted to ask myself.

''Kaichou needs to see Emiya here. Since he will be joining us there is a lot of formalities to be done.'' Hanakai explained with a smile.

What?

''What do you mean Hanakai ?'' Mitsuzuri asked confused, I was just as confused.

''Oh right, it might be a bit sudden, but Emiya here will be joining the student council.'' Kusaka smiled politely to Mitsuzuri.

Ok... what?

I may have some voids in my memory, but I for one know for sure that I didn't apply to join the student council. Just what are these two up to?

Wait.

Shitori-senpai is the student council president. So if these two are taking me there, then it must mean that senpai might want to talk to me. She did say last night that we will continue our discussion today. She also told me that all the members of the student council are...

I look at the two girls for a few moments. Seriously? Right under my nose again?

''I-Is this true Emiya?'' Mitsuzuri asked me, her expression seemed rather stunned. Does the idea of me joining the council bother her?

At the same time she asked, the embrace of the girls on my arms increased. I think they want me to play along.

''I-It's a bit complicated, I will explain later.'' I smiled awkwardly at her, I will tell you much later when I can come up with a proper story to tell you.

''Let's go shall we.'' My white haired classmate said as she and Kusaka started dragging me away leaving Mitsuzuri stare at us in shock.

After we left the class the two girls let go of my arms and started walking next to me.

I took a look at Kusaka on my left, then took a look at Hanakai on my right. I couldn't help but feel the urge to ask them. ''So you girls are part of Shitori-senpai's little board game as well?'' I asked them using a rather cryptic phrase. It doesn't hurt to be a little precautions. I just can't go out and ask directly 'Say are you girl's devils by any chance?'.

Imagine how it would turn out if the people I asked weren't, or if someone heard me ask this. Last thing I need is for people to start thinking that I'm crazy.

''Yep!'' Hanakai flashed a smile to me. It seems that they got my message, well that answers one of my question. ''Welcome on board Emiya.''

I could feel the edge of my mouth tremble a little. Two of my classmates are devils. While I shouldn't be shocked by it now, I can't seem to help it. The very idea that I'm going at a school that has devils in it sounds so weird in my head.

''So all this time you two were devils?'' I asked in defeat. Maybe I should listen to Mitsuzuri and try to be more perceptive about the things around. With the way things are going right I wouldn't be surprised if Kuzuki-sensei is some kind of former assassin gone into hiding. Now that would be ridiculous.

''Not exactly.'' Kusaka tapped her lower lip with her finger. ''Both Momo and I became devils during out first year of high school. So we've been devils for a year more or less.''

''I see.'' So they are reincarnated devils like me... or it would like me if I was a normal devil, but I don't even know if I'm devil or human right now.

''We were really excited when Kaichou told us that you are our new comrade.'' Hanakai explained as she stretched her arms upwards.

''Why is that?'' I raised my eyebrow. Is there any really real reason to be excited of me joining?

Kusaka answered before Hanakai . ''I think it's more of a matter of having some boys in our ranks. You may not know it, but up until now there were only girls in Kaichou's peerage. So the thought of having some boys on our team is a bit exciting.''

I nodded slowly. Well that doesn't sound so bad. I was actually considering some more deeper and dark reason, don't know why. Wait a second. ''Boys?'' I asked confused.

''Yes. Besides you, there's also a boy from class 2-C that was recruited by Kaichou a few days ago. Kaichou decided to do the introduction of both of you together to save time.'' Kusaka explained.

''I see.'' So there will be another guy besides me. Well that actually sounds reassuring now that I think about it. Somehow the idea of me spending time surrounded only by women doesn't really appeal me that much. I already do that at home and it really gives me headache sometimes.

I'm from class 2-B and I don't have any friends or acquaintances in class 2-C, so it makes me wonder what kind of person he is.

''Speak of the devil and he will appear. Pun indeed. '' Hanakai laughed as she gestured in front of us. There was another group of students.

On the right there are two girls. One has with shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair tied in two bushy twin tails and brown eyes.

The other one has brown hair tied in long twin ponytails, she also sports a pair of green clips in it. Her eyes are also green, and unlike the rest of the group, she wears striped green stockings.

On the left there's a fairly tall girl with blue hair and matching blue eyes. Her facial features aren't what I would call very girly and they remind me a bit Mitsuzuri to be honest, she seems similarly tomboyish.

Last, but not least, the person in the middle is a boy. He is about the height as me, his hair is short blonde and his eyes are flint grey. Unlike most of the boys of this school who wear their full uniform he seems to sport a more casual look, without a coat or a blazer and his sleeves are rolled up.

I somehow recognize the girls. I sometimes saw them when I went to the student council room to see senpai, but I never really gotten to personally know them. It also didn't help that I usually met with senpai when the other members were away. I guess we are on the 'hello and goodbye' status.

The boy however I never saw before.

''Speak of the devil and he will appear. Pun intended.'' The girl with the green clips giggled as our groups met.

''That's what I said.'' Hanakai laughed at her fellow student council member. Don't really see the funny part in this coincidence but oh well.

I drifted my eyes to the side. Well would you look at that, we are already at the student council room.

''Let's go, let's go!'' the girl with reddish-brown hair exclaimed cheerfully. ''You know how stingy Kaichou becomes when we're late.''

When we entered the room I noticed the people. Right next to the desk was a fairly tall girl with long black hair that extends all the way down to her knees, light brown eyes and a pair of blue, semi-rimmed glasses with square lenses.

She is Tsubaki Shinra, the vice-president of the student council. I had some interactions with her a few times in the past, and from what I can tell she is a pretty serious person, not as serious as Shitori-senpai, but overall a nice person.

Next to Shinra-senpai is my new master, Sona Sitri.

I sure didn't have any idea what I was truly getting myself into when she explained our situation. At least that book that she lent me shed some light on some of my questions. For instance I know the basic history of the devils, how the evil piece system was created and how it works.

So everyone present is part of senpai's peerage. Learning the mechanics of a peerage was like learning a new game to be honest. Seriously its way too much like chess, but I do wonder what piece everyone has. I'm also very curios what piece was used on me.

''I know it might be a little late, but I would like to officially welcome both of you to my peerage.'' Sona Sitri, my new master, greeted us. At least she seems better than last night.

''Glad to be on board!'' the other boy in the room chuckled eagerly. I on the other hand nodded.

''How about we present ourselves then, shall we?'' Senpai arranged he glasses.

''Me first! Me first!'' the girl with reddish hair raised her hand enthusiastic. ''I'm Tomoe Meguri from class 2-C. I'm a Knight.''

A Knight she said. From what I understood the evil pieces are modeled after the game of chess, and the person that get resurrected by them will gain the characteristics of the said piece.

In this case, since she is a knight she probably has great speed and mobility.

''I am Reya Kusaka from class 2-B.'' Kusaka presented herself, more to the other boy since we already know each other. ''I am a Bishop.''

Bishops, are adepts to magical and mystic arts. Usually they possess vast amounts of magical reserves.

''I'm Momo Hanakai, also from class 2-B. I'm Bishop Nr. Two.'' Hanakai made a small 'V' sign with her hand.

So both bishops were in my class, who would've thought.

''I'm Tsubasa Yura from class 2-C, welcome aboard.'' She greeted us in a casual and friendly manner, her way of speaking really did resemble Mitsuzuri. Maybe I should present them to each other. ''I'm the teams Rook.''

Rooks, in simple terms they are powerhouses. Capable of inhuman physical strength and durability.

''My name is Tsubaki Shinra, class 3-A.'' the tallest girl in the room presented herself while straightening her glasses. '' I am Kaichou's Queen.''

The Queen. The piece said to be the most powerful in the whole set. It has all the benefits of the others three pieces, at slightly smaller degree, but it's still very powerful.

''I'm Ruruko Nimura from class 1-A, hope we can all get along.'' she greeted us with a small bow, showing her respects to us second years. ''I'm also the group's first pawn.''

Pawns. Probably the most controversial piece one can become. Unlike Knights, Bishops, Rooks, and the Queen that have permanent powers, pawns allow the user to 'promote' into a different piece besides the king and gain the respective power.

In my opinion a pawn is the most versatile piece since you can promote to the piece that you need depending on the situation. As long as you can get approval of your king to promote, you can change and adapt, gaining new abilities. It could also help if there is a compatibility issue between the piece and the powers of the user. For instance it would be a problem if you turn a person with zero magical potential into a Bishop.

''Now that we're done, how about you gentlemen present yourself?'' Senpai asked us with a neutral expression.

The boy next to me responded faster to senpai's request. ''Pleased to meet you all, I'm Genshirou Saji from class 2-C. I'm a pawn.'' He presented himself with a grin, in a fast pace, maybe he is a bit nervous.

For the next moments all the eyes were focused on me. Did I do something wrong?

Oh right. I'm kind of a devil as well so... ''R-Right.'' I let out a dry cough. ''I'm Shirou Emiya, class 2-B. I'm a-'' I stopped mid-sentence when I suddenly realized something very crucial. ''And I have no idea what piece I am.'' I scratched my head awkwardly.

If these people here are all the pieces that senpai has, then it mean that I'm either a pawn, a knight or a rook.

The one who broke the awkward silence was Saji. ''Seriously dude?'' he asked after a couple of laughs. ''What kind of idiot doesn't even know what piece was used on?''

Ok... he may be right, and I'm not necessarily bother by his comment, but for some reason I think that the two of us won't get very well along.

''It isn't his fault Saji.'' Senpai corrected him. ''Emiya wasn't in the best of conditions when he was recruited, and I omitted to mention his specific piece to him.''

''That so...'' Saji nodded, his face giving away his awkwardness. ''Then what piece is he Kaichou?''

''I hope you two will get along since he is also a pawn like you.'' She informed the blonde male with a serious voice.

So I'm a pawn huh... Actually I'm glad that I am one. I don't have any idea what piece would have been most suited for me, so being a pawn will help later on.

''I see, I see.'' Saji nodded his head and smiled with a rather satisfied look. ''Well then, we might not be on the same level, but let's get along newbie.'' He tapped my shoulder and gave me a thumbs up.

His smile didn't show compassion so to say, rather a little arrogance. ''Newbie? Didn't you just get recruited as well?''

''Maybe, but unlike someone else here I actually have quite the potential. I did consume four pawns after all.'' His smile was anything but pleasing, I am not by any means a violent person, but his grin is making my fist itch.

But then again the fact that he consumed four pawns does say something. From what i understood, it's believed that the more evil pieces someone consumes when he is converted as a devil, the bigger his overall potential for power increases. From what I understood, normal humans don't regularly consume more than one pawn, the only exception to this rule being half-humans who inherited special traits from their inhuman parent, human magicians, and sacred gear holders.

So if that rule is applied here, either this guy is some kind of half-human, a magician or he possesses a powerful sacred gear.

He may be right, but still.

''Just because you might have consumed more pieces doesn't give you the right to be arrogant.'' I commented to him, my eyes rolling to the side. Really what's his problem?

His hand reached and grabbed my shirt. ''What was that punk?'' his tone was very irritated, I could see in his eyes that he is pissed.

I was ready to respond to his hostility, but a cold chill that filled the room made us both to turn our heads towards our master. ''Both of you, stop acting like a pair of children.'' She told us in a slow and cold tone.

Was she always this scary? Also did her glasses always glow so malicious?

I could feel Saji's hand trembling as it still held my shirt. ''B-But Kaichou, he starte-''

''No buts.'' She cut him off coldly. ''First of all Saji you are being disrespectful to Emiya, to your new comrades, and to me by behaving like this. Second, you are too hasty to assume that you are better or superior to him in any way yet.''

''B-But Kaichou, you used four pawns on me, and there was one already used. So that means he could have used three at the most.'' He managed to slip out of his trembling jaw.

''Yes, you are correct. Emiya did indeed consume three pawns, less than the number you consumed, but the quality of his pieces outrank yours.''

''I don't get it.'' He commented after a few seconds of silence. Strangely, I also don't understand what she means by 'quality'.

''When I tried to resurrect Emiya, I first tried using my Knight piece on him, and it failed. I then proceeded and used my Rook piece on him, it failed as well. So I was forced to use all my remaining pawns on him.'' She explained professionally to us.

Hmmm, so that's how it went. Odd, something feels wrong in what she said. Before I could even ask, the blue haired girl, Yura raised her hand. ''Wait a second Kaichou. If I'm not mistake a Knight is about the value of three pawns, and a Rook has the value of five pawns. So how did you resurrect him using only three normal pawns?''

''It's because they weren't normal pawns.'' She answered without any hesitation, poking the curiosity of everyone present. ''At least not all of them.''

''Ok I'm lost.'' Saji commented while rolling his eyes.

Senpai sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. ''Did you even try to read the book that I gave you Saji?''

He opened his mouth to comment, but stood with it open and didn't say anything for a few moments. His face softened a little. ''A bit...''

''Moving on. The reason why I was able to resurrect Emiya using only three pawns was because one of those three pawns was a mutation piece.''

When I heard this, my eyes widen in shock. Saji on the other hand didn't really seem to understand the meaning what she did. ''Mutation piece? What's that?''

This time Shinra-senpai chose to explain. ''It's a very rare and powerful variation of an evil piece. Unlike a normal piece that has a set value, a mutation piece can exceed that value, allowing for one single piece to substitute multiple pieces.''

Sona took on from where she left. ''While I may not know the exact value of the mutation piece that was used on Emiya, I know for a fact that it exceeds three pawns, otherwise the Rook piece would have worked on him. So if in your eyes the number of pieces used on one determines the stronger and superior one, then Emiya outclasses you by a margin.''

''N-No w-way.'' His skin lost some of its color, his head hanged in the air, depression oozing from his body like an imaginary dark cloud.

I would have probably chuckled a little at his reaction. I'm not a person who enjoys to see other people suffer, but since this guy has been pretty arrogant since we met I will make a small exception.

''Is something wrong Emiya?'' my new master asked.

Of course something is wrong. The revelation that she used a mutation piece on me made me feel a little awkward. From what I understood the chance of obtaining a mutation piece is only one in ten devils, and I'm talking about a one single piece, and she used it on me. I couldn't help but sigh tiredly. ''Nothing... I feel like I made you waste something so rare and powerful on me.''

She was silent at first, her eyes softened a little under her glasses. ''Emiya, your worth far exceeds the price that I paid. You may not see it now, but perhaps one day you will.''

I'm not sure if it will come true, but her words made me feel better. ''Thank you master.''

''Kaichou.'' She corrected me. ''While we are at school call me Kaichou.''

I nodded at her, it wasn't a bad idea actually. For some reason I have a hard time calling her Shitori-senpai now knowing it isn't her real name, and calling her Sitri-senpai or master in public would be weird.

That reminds me. ''Hanakai and Kusaka said that I have to join the student council, is that true?''

''Yes. While you are not forced to join, it would be in your best interest to do so. We often gather here, discuss and solve supernatural related matters, so if you kept visiting here without being an actual member it will bring unwanted attention.'' She elaborated professionally.

''I see.'' I guess she has a point. It would be weird if I kept going randomly to this place without any particular reason. ''Guess I know what I am supposed to write on my club application report.'' I chuckled dryly, at least I won't get nagged by the teachers to join any school club since their mandatory.

''Is there something wrong Saji?'' Shinra-senpai asked the blond man standing right behind. I took a quick glance at him and saw his rather annoyed expression.

''I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that carrot-top over here is supposed to be better than me.'' He complained, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

Carrot-top really? My hair auburn-red, not orange-red man.

This guys is seriously starting to give me a headache. ''Do you have a problem with me or something?'' I asked him with a calm tone, though I could feel my eye brows frowning. Last time I checked I never even met the guy, let alone give him any particular reason for him to hate me.

''Yeah I have a problem with you. I was so glad when I heard that I'm the only male on the team, then out of nowhere you pop out like this, and if that wasn't enough it just had to be of the schools popular guys.'' he pointed his finger accusingly at me, in a way that made me feel like I committed a crime or something.

Just what is this guy talking about? It's not like I had a choice in the matter, if he needs to complain to someone, he should do it to Sen-I mean Kaichou. Also what does he mean by popular guy?

''Ok...'' I nodded slightly to him, rolling my eyes tiredly. ''I have no idea what you're talking about.''

''The hell you don't Fake Janitor! I know all about your little plan!'' he roared to me in indignation.

''Plan?'' everyone present asked confused, me included.

''Yes! Don't think that I didn't see through your 'Mister Nice Guy' routine. You act all smiles and help anyone at any time, without any compensation, all of this is nothing but a act so you can impress the ladies!''

.

.

.

''What?'' I don't have a mirror right now to check, but something tells me that my expression is very disturbed right now.

''Do you deny it?'' he asked maliciously at me, he even took a nearby lamp and turned it on in my face. What is this an interrogation?

''W-Well I don't deny helping people if that what you're asking, but I nev-''

''Aha! He confessed!'' he pointed his finger in my face again. Seriously he will poke one of my eyes if he keeps doing that.

I honestly don't have even the slightest idea what I am supposed to do or say in a situation like this. I took a look at the people around and they appeared just as shocked and confused as I am.

''Saji.'' Kaichou spoke, her voice was calm, but her tone resonated like a whip slapped in the air. ''I don't know what kind of rumors you have heard about Emiya, but I can guarantee his integrity. I wouldn't have spent some many afternoons with him if he was anything beneath a proper gentlemen.''

Wow. Guess Kaichou really has a high regard of me, I should try to live up to it.

I took a quick look to Saji, his face went pale and his mouth hanged open quivering. ''S-Spent a-afternoons... perfect gentleman...'' he muttered in a completely horrified voice, as if the doctor just told him he had terminal cancer. I honestly don't understand what's wrong with me spending some time with Kaichou and discussing books.

''You bastard!'' he regained his senses, only to be overwhelmed by range. ''I knew we won't get along the moment I met you, but to think you and Kaichou had _t-that_ kind of r-relationship... I won't forgive you!''

I didn't have to comment since the guy leaped at me with his fist clutched. I instinctively put my guard up. ''Yura!'' Kaichou called on her blue haired Rook.

Without any time to waste, the thin girl dashed and caught Saji. She took his tensed fist and pulled it to his back, her other arm was put around his neck to lock his movements. Saji was now struggling to break free from her hold. ''H-Hey, let go!'' he demanded with a weak voice, his skin started to change color due to the lack of oxygen the hold was giving him.

After about thirty seconds of struggling and complaining Saji finally gave in. When Yura released him, he feel to the ground and desperately was trying to recover his lost oxygen.

Kaichou stood up from her seat and walked in front of Saji, her eyes glaring at him coldly. ''Saji, I want you listen very carefully.'' Her tone was just as cold as her stare. ''While I understand it may be hard getting used to change considering your situation, it doesn't justify leashing out to your own allies. I will overlook it this time, but next time there will be consequences for such foolish actions.'' She cupped his face with her hand, making sure that he looked her in the eyes. ''Do I make myself clear?''

''Y-Yes ma'am!'' he managed to squeak in fear.

''Good.'' She turned around and leaned against her desk. ''I hope this little outburst won't give you a negative impression about us Emiya.''

''N-No it's ok.'' I mutter slowly, my face was sweating very hard. Ok... I take back everything nice I ever said about this girl. She is really damn scary when she wants to... good thing I was never on her bad side. Better watch how I behave in the future.

''Perfect.'' She nodded as she took out two papers from her desk. ''This here are your registration forms for the student council. There's a bit to write, so I won't haste you two, but try to turn them in by tomorrow.''

I nodded slightly as I took the said paper, Saji followed suit, but he seemed to still be a little sore from his little encounter with Yura.

''Now if you gentlemen don't have any more questions, you are free to go back to your classes.'' She told us as began looking through some papers on her desk.

''That's all?'' both me and Saji asked at the same time.

''Yes, that would be all for today. While I admit I am a rather strict person, I also believe that overworking isn't good.'' She arranged her glasses. ''So we will take things slowly and properly. The following days we will try and figure out the exact nature of your powers. So for the time being go back to your classes. I won't tolerate skipping.'' Her glasses shined maliciously.

''Yes Kaichou.'' Both Saji and I nodded without any further comments.

I must admit that this meeting was certainly different from what I expected.

* * *

 _Tired._

The day went on and ended fast. When I had dinner with my family I couldn't help but notice the unusual silence. I passed it down as something unimportant and just went straight to bed afterwards.

 _So tired._

I just want to sleep, but these weird dreams keep waking me up. It's already 2:00 A.M. and I can't seem catch an hour of sleep without dreaming of death, fires, and swords with me in the middle of it all.

Is this something that happens to people once they become devils, or am I simply too stressed?

Maybe I should ask Kaichou tomorrow... or is it today since it's after midnight... I'm too tired to figure it out.

I went to the kitchen to get some warm milk, maybe it would help me calm down.

When I passed through the living room I noticed that someone was watching the TV. Did Illya stay up again to watch reruns of her anime's again?

I walked to her with the intention of telling her to go to sleep but I dropped that idea the moment I saw who was on the couch. It wasn't Illya.

''Sella?'' I called to her. ''Why are you awake at this hour?''

She jumped from her seat when she heard me, I must have scared her. She looked at me for a few moments, her eyes drifted to the side and she sighted tiredly. ''Oh... it's you Shirou.''

Her tone was so slow and weak, her eyes seemed very tired, she has dark circles under them, and her hair was messy. Seeing her like this made me think that she was very sick. Iri did say that Sella seemed rather depressed, but I didn't imagine she would look like this.

It pained me to see her like this. ''Sella... what's wrong?''

She avoided eye contact and began walking away. ''There's nothing wrong. Sorry, but I have to go.''

I looked as she tried to walk away... but I knew she wasn't just walking away, she was running away from me. I gritted my teeth in frustration, seeing her like this and doing nothing was making me want to punch myself.

No.

I grabbed her by the wrist and stopped her in her tracks. She didn't try to struggle or complain, she didn't even turn around to look at me, she just stood in place for a few moments before breaking the silence. ''Let go.'' She told me simply, there was no feeling in her voice.

''No.'' I told her firmly. ''Not until you tell me what's wrong with you Sella.''

''I won't.'' she stated with an uncaring voice.

''Then I won't let go until you do.'' I threw in my decision, even if I can't help her I still want to do something.

''Let go.'' Her hand began struggling in my grip.

''No.'' my grip tightened around her wrist.

Each second that passed felt like hours, she wanted to desperately run away from me, I wanted to help her. We both struggled, we both refused to listen to the other, we both were too stubborn to throw in the towel.

I never wanted to see anyone sad or cry in front of me. The sight always affected me even if it was from a complete stranger, so seeing the woman who was like a big sister to me all these years look so sad, makes feel so bitter. ''Sella please... I just want to help you.''

She was silent and rigid for a few moments. A swift flip of her hair brushed against my face as she turned around and faced me.

She gripped my shoulders and pushed me onto the couch, the next thing I knew she was mounted on me, her hands were pinning my shoulder against the couch. For a moment I wanted to protest in confusion, but it was when I saw her eyes that I was lost for words. Her red eyes were swollen and puffy... she was crying.

''How can you help me when you're the reason of my pain Shirou?!'' she demanded in a disturbed and ragged voice, her tears flowing on her cheeks, her lips were quivering.

This image I was seeing was just... wrong. Sella is supposed to be a strong and confident person, easy to anger and draw the wrong conclusions out of situations. Seeing her look so sad and vulnerable made me think I was looking at a whole different person.

''Sella...'' I tried composing myself. ''Please just tell what I did and I will try to make up for it.''

Her face was frozen for a few seconds, she dropped her head in defeat. ''You died Shirou.'' She whispered to me in a broken tone.

My eyes widen as her words struck my very core. ''You may be fine now Shirou... but you died trying to save me... when it was me who was supposed to protect you.'' her voice was filled with pain and regret. ''That day, if I was just a little careful and kept my magecraft materials close to me, this situation wouldn't have happened. It was duty to protect you and I failed.''

''Even though you've been brought back, it came at a cost. Your freedom is now gone, and you are now involved in the supernatural world, something that your father and mother wanted to avoid happening. From now on every single pain and hardship you will face will be because I wasn't able to protect when you needed it.'' The tears dripping on her face landed on my hands.

It took a few moments for to take in her words, and the meaning behind them.

How could I be so blind?

That time when I talked everything with them, I was so angry and confused that I failed to notice that Sella, Liz and Iri all shared one similar trait. All three of them had puffy eyes... a sign that they had cried.

How could I be so stupid?

In my own personal drama, I failed to notice how the people that I cared for were suffering because of what happened to me. I died... I did managed to come back... but I still died nonetheless. You can't expect a person to just write down something like this as something minor. All this time, the people I cared for were all suffering together with me, no, they were in even greater pain than I was.

I now understand why Sella was acting the way she was. She was hurting so bad because every time she saw me, she would remember the image of me dying in a pool of my own blood, her inability to save me, having to rely on the help of a devil, stripping me of my humanity and liberty in the process.

Who knows how much pain she felt, all because of me...

I'm such an idiot...

My eyes cringed in frustration at my own damn stupidity. My hands reached for the back of her head and pulled her into a hug. ''I'm sorry Sella... I'm so sorry.'' I whispered painfully to her ear. I felt like I wanted to cry... but no tears appeared... they never do... I just can't cry.

She didn't move or say anything. She just sat quietly in my arms, the only thing I could hear from was the sound of her beating heart and her breath.

We sat like this for minutes, without exchanging any words, just sitting silently and feeling each other's warmth. The sensation of her soft hair brushing against my hands.

I decided to break the eternal silence that was surrounding us. ''Sella...'' I started slowly, pushing her slowly further away so I could look her in the eyes. ''You have no reason to condemn yourself for what happened. I'm not accusing you, nor am I feeling bitter towards you, so there's no reason for you to do it yourself.''

She leaned backwards, I could finally see her eyes again. They were still sad but at least there weren't any tears in them anymore. ''Shirou... this isn't something I can just forget. I know that I don't always treat you nicely, and I sometimes lash at you violently, but I would never intentionally wish for your misfortune or harm.''

''I know.''

Her shoulders began trembling. ''When I saw you getting injured, fighting, and in the end dying, I realized just how horrible I treated you all your life. There were so many times when you wanted to spend time with me, befriend or just talk to me, and I tried to keep you at a distance, I acted really mean to you, I-''

''You're wrong!'' I told her firmly, my hands gripping her shoulders. ''I never once resented you for any of that. True there were times when I felt that you hated me, but I never once held it against you.''

In that moment, memories of my childhood flashed in my mind. ''I still remember the time when mom and dad brought me here. The first months, you were constantly watching my every step, and were throwing me nasty stares whenever I got close to Illya. At first it felt awkward, but I got used to it.''

Mom and Dad were mostly gone and were rarely home, so taking care of me fell on her and Liz, and considering how Liz is, most of the job go placed on her.

''Even though you always were strict and careful with me, you were also very kind with me. The first time I tried to cook something, it turned out real bad and you were brutally honest and told me that. After that I kept trying to cook again, but I still couldn't do it the right way and you started teaching me how to handle myself in the kitchen.''

''There were many times when I came home injured and you took care of me. Like that time when I tried saving a cat from a group of delinquents who tried to beat it with a crowbar. I ended up taking the beating instead.'' I shiver ran through my body as I remember that. It wasn't due to the pain that they caused me, but rather by how cruel those boys were to try and beat a defenseless cat. ''The moment I returned home you freaked out and started patching me up.''

She always acted strict and gave of the sensation that she hated me, but she also was more concerned about me when the situation arise.

''I know our relationship wasn't always the best one two can have, but never did I held any ill intent towards you.'' Our eyes were locked on to the other. ''What happened in the end were the results of my choices. I chose to fight, it got me killed. I may regret dying, but I never once regret doing it to protect you.'' the insides of my stomach filled like they were boiling. ''If I was forced to repeat it, I would gladly do it again.'' I let go of her shoulders, awkwardly scratching the back of my head. ''After all, you're my precious big sister.''

There was silence again between us. I stared into depth of her red orbs, she was doing the same with my golden ones. She gently picked herself up and turned her back on me.

''Stupid...'' she whispered as she avoided face to face contact, her voice was slow and gentle, a small amount of sadness was still present in it, but the majority from earlier was now gone. ''You can't say stuff like that to a woman... it makes it hard for her to hate you.''

She slowly began walking away, her walk this time wasn't as heavy and painful looking as it was earlier. She turned around and looked at me, a small gentle smile forming on her lips. ''Thank you.''

No, thank you Sella. Your smile was the one that helped me. ''Better get some sleep, when you wake up I will teach you all I know about magecraft. As the eldest son of the household I won't allow you to be a slacker.''

She said with a loud voice from the entrance of the room, her tone was filled with the same strictness and seriousness that I grew up with. This is the way things should be, the way they have always been. I don't want anyone in my family to change because of what happened to me.

A let out a tired sigh as I leaned my neck against the end of the couch. I want things to remain the same, I want the people I grew up to stay the same.

Perhaps it's a bit selfish, but I can't help but like things as they are. There is no need for them to change together with me.

''Can't wait for it.'' I whispered to her with a tired smile.

So tired... maybe I should just sleep on the couch tonight. I just don't seem to have the will or energy to get up from this place.

 _ **''Wow, that was touching.''**_

My body instantly arched itself up.

 _Again._

It happened again.

The same voice that I heard yesterday. I looked around me, there was no one here, it was exactly like before, am I starting to hear voices?

''I-Is there anyone there?'' no response. Of course there's no response, what am I even thinking?

Perhaps I need to talk to someone.

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Wow, so this will be the team that Shirou will be stuck with for a while?'' Taiga rolled her eyes as she read the 'classified data' on the Sitri team. ''Things will be getting interesting later on.''

''Instructor there is something I can't understand in this chapter. Why did Saji act the way he did towards Shirou?'' Miyu inquired curious.

''Well to explain in simple terms he was salty about having another guy on the team. By having one automatically lowers his chances of getting laid, add in the equation the fact that Shirou is pretty handsome, is very kind and nice, and can cook foods that can please kings, it will be a miracle if poor Saji can score with any of the girls.'' Taiga explained while going even deeper in the stories hidden contents.

''Oh I get it.'' Illya did a perfect fist bump. ''He was jealous of Onii-chan, kind like how those two guys, forgot their names, form the perverted trio get super jealous and pissed when they saw Issei with a pretty girl. Now that I think about it, Saji and Issei are rather similar, so it isn't far fetched that Saji would be jealous on Shirou. ''

''But didn't he act a little arrogant this chapter? More than he was the first time he was introduced in the canon.'' Miyu inquired confused.

Taiga growled in anticipation. ''Seems like Ray has some plans for his background... which was never really revealed in the canon now that I think about. Heck, almost every member of the Sitri team are background-less characters. Hope Ray can pull of some proper backstories for them.''

''He will have a lot of work to do that's for sure...'' Illya commented as she rolled her eyes.

''Anyways let's not forget that holidays are coming. So from all the cast of 'A fake hero', we all wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Let's see again in 2017!'' Taiga roared!

''Stay tuned for the next chapter 'Stray hunt part I'.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Well that's all for today. I'm surprised I actually finished before New Year and Christmas, lucky me.**

 **Let's get down to business now shall we.**

 **For those of you wondering why in Zelretch's unholy name did i write a opening for this, well I just happen to be a fan of Shirou Fujimura's (that's the author's name) 'Devil Reborn: Redux', which i highly recommend (while i don't really enjoy oc insert stories, his is an exception. If you like good battle scenes, good comedy and tear jerking moments, and a MC that can kick ass, then this is a story for you. The thing is he writes opening songs for his arcs which actually match well with the arc, and the songs he chooses are a good choice. So i decided to try it out once and see how it turns out. Why i chose the opening of UBW season 1? I think is perfect for how Shirou is right now.**

 **If you are wondering why Saji is kind of an ass in this chapter... well he kinda was one in the beginning of the canon. Don't get me wrong but he seemed a bit arrogant when he first met Issei, so I think I could work with that. About Shirou's pieces. I was considering the possibility of replacing Saji with Shirou, I mean look at his name Saji GenSHIROU, it could have been an interesting idea, but then again I would have had to give him the vritra sg and it would raise more problems to me (plus I need a comedy victim). Anyways since canonically Sona still had 3 unused pawns I decided to use them. But then I thought, Shirou with Archer power in him being only a 3 pawns worth? Naw ain't gonna work. So I made one of those pawns a mutation one. I mean seriously, Rias had a mutation bishop (something tells me good old Sirzechs had a hand in that) so why not give one to Sona as well (I think that Serafall could pull some strings and give her precious So-tan a mutation piece)**

 **About the visions that Shirou has. As you can guess those are from the dream cycle, and if you are wondering why it was like that, it's because they don't occur in an exact order. If it was like that, Rin would have seen some of Archer's memories from the time in his youth early on the story, so my guess is that the dream cycle is actually random. So pieces of Archers memories (which are pretty messed up due to multiple reasons) will be appearing randomly in Shirou's dreams.**

 **About the interaction between Shirou and Sella. Well this is how I view it: Even though they don't seem to be the best of friends in the Prisma verse, Shirou did grew up with her as his caretaker, so I would imagine that Shirou does view her like a big sister figure. So their little dispute was justified.**

 **Also if you are wondering why Sella was feeling so down and depressed about what happened, think about it from this perspective. Her job is to take care of Shirou and Illya, and she takes a great pride in her existence as an Einzbern homunculus, one of the highest grade kind. So for her to fail to protect Shirou, she felt like she failed her mission of existence. So of course she would feel depression and suffer a small breakdown.**

 **If you are wondering what's up with the costume Iri was wearing, google 'Einzbern Consultation Room' and you will see what I mean. The same for Liz weapon, just write Leysritt and checks images.**

 **Now onto other matters. Thank you all for the suggestions you made last chapter for noble phantasm ideas. There were some that i really found good and plan on using in future chapters, so keep the ideas flowing!**

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

 **\- XxPokemonMasterxX: I also had an unusual thing for Sella and Shirou. They will have more interaction in this story, that's for sure, about full scale relationship however... it's a little too early to give my final verdict. Also, Shirou doesn't really have many choices at the moment so he has no choice than go along with the flow. Hahaha, yep, I'm one big bastard!**

 **-Kuroshinobi 13: I can only say that he will appear partially, and it won't be any time soon.**

 **\- 98kazer: I don't see what you are apologizing for... I mean, that's the same thing that I thought when I posted the first chapter**

 **\- Sonicdude8: You and 80% of the people who read the chapter. Let's just say that Shirou will be giving Issei competition. I won't say anything more.**

 **\- InfinityMask: It will be revealed all in time. From a professional point of view Shirou is simply a reincarnated human whose demonic power is so weak that it can't even be sensed, so Shirou will be on team Sitri for now. Well at base most of the story will go from Shirou's perspective, but there will be times when it will change, but I doubt it will be from Rias. Not so stupid, there will be some new stuff in addition to the canon stuff.**

 **\- Swordalfgun: Could he be Shirou without weapons? Also from what I noticed Shirou's tracing is much faster than Gil's gate, so making him do it like him would be more of a downgrade. If you are thinking about Ea forget it, that thing is simply impossible to recreate. Also... you are right op asf, not gonna happen.**

 **-T-B-R: I'm scared to ask how you came up with that idea.**

 **\- victorhliu121: While he may or may not be able to project divine constructs, it's a whole different matter of using them. Hear me out, while he could physically project them, can he enact their powers? I mean look at Ig-Alima, the weapon that Kalied Shirou projected. That thing is physically impossible to be used by a human since it's so damn huge! Also, there might be divine constructs that require divinity or a magical power from the age of gods, things which Shirou can't replicate. So even if I will decide to use any, I will need to be careful.**

 **-** **Ash the Aura Guardian: While i wont go into details, the Excalibur will affect Shirou in a different way from how it affected him in GDXD.**

 **\- Shadow of a Memory: It may be just my opinion or misinterpretation, but Shirou's mind is still in manufacturing process. It took Archer more than ten years to fully develop it, and that's as he went fought, used his projection to the limits, and suffered endlessly. It may exist in Shirou, but it has yet to be completed. Thanks a lot for the support.**

 **\- BloodWolf752: I won't go into details, but the card will be a central point in Shirou's life. Also about the ship... let's just say that this will give new options to shipping materials for Shirou, besides the already used ones.**

 **\- simple405: The dialogue was monotone because it was supposed to be monotone. I mean they are talking about how he basically got killed, got somewhat revived and now his soul is pretty much dammed and he will be a slave for an uncertain amount of time. Plus Shirou went through the whole family drama thing, so I doubt he is in any good mood.**

 **So then until next! See you all in 2017, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	4. Stray Hunt I

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

 **Warning: The later part of the chapter contains gore elements. You're discretion is advised.**

* * *

 _I always knew something was different about me..._

 _I never truly understood what it was._

 _Not until I saw the horrified looks of the people around me._

 _What horrified them... what should have horrified me..._

 _I wrote it off as something normal._

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

 **Stray hurt I**

* * *

I sometimes wonder if all families are like mine. More specifically, I wonder if all families act like mine during dinner.

''Hands off Maiya, I saw it first.'' Iri glared at Maiya-san who was sitting on the other side of the table. ''You already had one.''

''Yeah, well I reached for it first.'' She returned the glare to Iri. ''Besides you already had two.''

I could see sparks forming between the two older women. The sensation they are giving is akin to that of two bitter rival's one step away from starting their final battle to settle everything once and for all.

The reason of their behavior... an egg roll.

It seems that Maiya-san reached for the last egg roll that Iri was planning on eating. As always things escalate really fast when it comes to this two women.

I sighed and rested my head against the palm of my hand. Things sure have been crazy these past days.

 _ **''They certainly are lively.''**_

I sighed. I really can't believe I'm actually doing this.

 _Yeah... at least I can't complain of getting bored._

My eyes drifted around the other people at the table. Liz was munching the food in front of her like a chipmunk, Illya and Miyu were eating normally. I then looked at the person who wasn't sitting at the table.

Sella was still washing the dishes. I told her that I could do it, but no. She insisted that I can't go around stealing her job.

A small smile formed on my lips as I looked at her. This is the way thing should be, like they always have been. Even with this drastic change in my life I feel that things are starting to go back to the way they were.

 _ **''You know, it's not really nice to stare.''**_ The voice commented with an amused tone. ** _''I can see that Sella has a really nice butt, but you shouldn't stare at it so fiercely.''_**

I instantly chocked when I heard his comment. If I had any liquid in my mouth I would have probably done a perfect spit take.

The people around me saw my sudden reaction and looked at me confused. ''Is something wrong Onii-chan?'' Illya asked me.

I quickly waved my hands. ''N-No everything is fine, I just chocked on some food.'' I lied through my teeth, hope she buys it.

 _ **''Lying to your little sister** **?** **Now that isn't very nice from you.''**_ the voice chuckled at me arrogantly.

 _Will you shut up already Archer! If I knew that trying to use my powers will get me stuck with a guy like you in my head, I wouldn't have done it in the first place!_

 _ **''I'm not happy about our current situation as well, besides with our luck, even if you didn't use my powers that time, you would have used them in the future, so it couldn't be avoided.''**_

Man...

Just what kind of divine being did I piss off to get stuck with this guy in my head?

If only I knew what I was getting myself in a few days ago...

* * *

A few days have passed since my official enrollment in the student council. When Kaichou said she is strict she sure wasn't kidding. While the book that she gave me did cover a good amount of information and knowledge that a beginner devil requires, it was still _beginner_ stuff. The next following days she has been drilling information that we will require, and she sure didn't leave room for complain.

At least I was smart enough to bring a notebook and write everything down. I don't think I could remember all of the stuff that she taught us in such a short amount of time.

When I asked the others if this is something common here, they smiled brokenly at me and said 'Try to hang on.'

Saji, who was full of bravado the first time I met him suffered the most. By the end of the day he would look like he suddenly lost a lot of weight and his skin lost most of his color. Kinda like a ghost.

That was the theoretical part of our training. The physical part of it was a whole different story.

Both Saji and I were waiting on the couch in the council room to start figuring out our powers. Apparently Kaichou wanted to test something out before we begin our training.

In my bored I began looking at the other members of the student council. As the days went by, I got to know them better, and each one of them were interesting in their own way.

''I brought it Kaichou.'' Yura, the groups Rook said as she opened the door with her leg since her hands were busy carrying a rather large box.

''Good work. Place it on the table please.'' Kaichou told her blue haired servant as she got up from her desk.

When she put the box on the desk, she began opening it, the other members of the council gathering around us as she did. When she was done, a weird looking crystal ball was revealed. Weird because it's rested on three bone looking legs. If I were to comment on it, it look like something a stereotypical witch in fiction would use.

''What is this Kaichou?'' I asked her rather intrigued, are we gonna try and do some sort of prediction or something?

''I'm glad you asked Emiya.'' She said as she took a seat in front of us. ''This globe is a device used by devils to determine ones elemental affinity.''

''Elemental affinity?'' Saji narrowed his eyes as he stared at the device.

''Exactly. All magic and supernatural beings possess a certain affinity or compatibility to certain elements, due to biological or spiritual reason. Its believed that a person who has an affinity to an certain element may have an easier time understanding and utilizing powers and spells of the same element as their affinity.''

''So their elements basically means what magic they can use?'' Saji asked half confused.

''Yes and no. Ones affinity only tells one what type of power he is most compatible with, but it doesn't limit his options. I for instance have a high affinity for water element which I inherited from the Sitri bloodline, but I am also proficient with most elements.'' Kaichou explained.

''So how many elements are there?'' I asked curiously.

''It usually depends by which branch of magic you are taught from. The most common and the one most devils use is the standard European five element system which is Fire, Earth, Water, Wind and Lightening, but there are other classifications like Taoist system that covers Water, Fire, Earth, Wood and Metal.''

Hhmm interesting. Guess it's a matter of system. ''If you say that those are standard elements, do you mean there are non-standard ones?''

''Very perceptive. Non-standard elements are elements resulted from a fusion of a different number of elements or some sort of magic influence or mutation that creates unregistered elements.'' She elaborated to us. Don't know why, but for some reason non-standard elements seem to piqued my attention. ''The best example I can give you is my sister. Her element is Ice, this element was created because she had a high affinity for both water and wind element, the two of them merging and forming the non-standard element ice.''

This is most interesting. Now that I think about there was a video game that I used to play with Illya. If I'm not mistaken there were some elements that were created by combining different ones. Like by combining earth and fire element you could create a lava element, or by combing fire or water you could obtain steam. While those were from a video game and this is here is real life, it still useful as a reference. ''What elements do the others have?'' I asked curiously, Kaichou already said that she is compatible with most of them, so there's no reason to ask.

''My elements are water, earth and lighting.'' Shinra-senpai answered first.

''I have earth and metal element.'' Tsubasa puffed her chest proudly. I wonder if it's because she is a rook, but those elements seem to match her piece.

''Fire and wind are mine!'' Meguri laughed proudly.

''I have only wind.'' Ruruko scratched her cheek with and embarrassed look, guess she was feeling a little awkward because she had only one element.

''Mine are fire, water and lighting.'' Hanakai smiled and made a V-sign with her hand.

''I possess fire, wind, and earth.'' Kusaka raised three fingers with her hand.

I took a quick glance towards Saji. His face was really stunned. ''Wow, you two have three each?'' he asked with a rather jealous voice as he look at Kusaka and Hanakai.

''Bishops usually have high compatibility with most elements. Three is actually a common number for bishops.'' Shinra-senpai explained to the blond pawn.

''I wonder how many I have?'' Saji wondered out loud, his arms crossed and his eyes staring at the ceiling. He isn't the only one wondering what element he has.

''This is what this device is for. To tell you.'' Kaichou said as he touched the base of the device, the said device starting to glow, inside it a cloud of smoke forming. ''Just place your hand on it and it will read your magical signature, discovering its affinity.''

''Ok... here goes nothing.'' Saji was the one to take the initiative. He slowly and carefully placed his hand over the globe, as if very carefully touching broken glass while trying not to cut himself. The globe began glowing in a rainbow like series of colors. ''Tickles.''

As the light died out inside the globe two small spheres formed. One was red and the other black. Inside each of it was written a kanji. I could hear Kaichou letting out a small awe sound. ''Interesting. Fire and darkness. Fire may be common, but darkness affinity is very hard to find. You have a rare combination.''

''Hear that Emiya?'' Saji laughed arrogantly and puffed his chest as he looked at me. ''I'm a rare type.''

Letting aside the fact that Saji was acting arrogant again, which had become something of a daily ritual during our interactions, I couldn't help but stare at the black sphere in the device. I looked towards the team's bishops for information. ''A quick question. I can imagine how fire element works, but what about darkness?''

The first one to answer was Hanakai. ''Darkness element usually involves magic and powers that are related or have curses at base. Since Saji has it, he may become very skilled in wielding curse magic.''

''I see.'' I nodded. So he has a lot of potential of becoming support for the group, in games curses usually act as a way to weaken or restrain an enemy.

''Now let's see what you are Emiya.'' Tsubasa began pushing me from the back.

''Come on, come on. I'm really curious what yours is!'' Meguri said all exited, gesturing with her hands up and down. I can't help but wonder how much sugar does this girl eats.

''Fine, fine.'' I sighed in defeat, no need to rush, it's not like the device will run away or something.

I slowly touched the device and let it do its job. Unlike Saji who felt a tingling sensation, it was more of a stinging sensation for me, kind of like a needle. I looked at Kaichou who was starring intensely at the device, I could see some confusion in her eyes. I looked at the globe and in it was lone a grey sphere, but it was backwards and I couldn't see what was written on it. ''Well?''

She was silent for a few moments, she then looked me in the eyes, and there was only seriousness in hers. ''Emiya... would you be kind and touch it again?''

I was wondering if I did something was wrong, but I tried to go along with her request. ''Sure... I guess.''

I repeated the process, the end result appeared to be the same. ''So?''

She was silent, she arranged her glasses slowly after a few heavy seconds. ''I don't know how I should explain this...''

''What?'' I asked confused, just what could I have done to screw up something that looked so simple. ''Please don't tell me I don't have any affinity.''

''No... You do have one, it's just...'' she turned the globe towards me, everyone in the room gathers behind me and tried to look at the result. ''I never heard of anything like this.''

When the globe was turned I saw what it was written inside of the sphere. ''It says that your affinity is 'Sword'.'' Nimura commented in awe.

''Sword?'' I tilted my head confused, somehow while it sounded very weird, it also felt very appropriate at the same time.

''Wait, is 'sword' supposed to be an actual element?'' Yura asked unsure of what she was seeing.

''No, that's why I asked him to repeat it.'' Kaichou said as she rubbed her temple. ''If it were something close, like steel or metal, I could have understood, but I never heard of such an element before.''

''What do you think this means Kaichou?'' Kusaka inquired of her master.

''I'm not sure. For all I know, we might just have witnessed the discovery of a new brand of element.'' She deduced as she tested the device on herself to see if it was ok. Judging by her expression it was.

''Oh~ so does that mean that Emiya is so kind of super unique type?'' Meguri deduced as she pounded her fist into her open hand.

''It would seem so.'' Kaichou nodded a bit reluctant.

''Damn you Emiya! You just had to be something unique and cool sounding like a sword!'' Saji cursed under his breath. It's not like I had any choice regarding what element I have you know...

''But if Emiya's element is sword, then what kind of magic could he be compatible with?'' Shinra-senpai asked our master with a while cupping her chin. That actually is a good question.

''Not many to be honest.'' Kaichou admitted in defeat. ''While I don't know the exact details, there are magical arts meant to be implemented in swords and other weapons, but their mostly support and enhancement techniques. Perhaps some of those might be recommended for him.''

''So his unique element actually limits his choices.'' Nimura deduced.

''It depends actually. Until he practices other types of elemental magic and see how he fares we can't say for sure.'' Kusaka explained.

''Wow. I sure am lucky.'' I commented sarcastically with a sigh. Talk about irony, my element is so rare that there isn't much magic involving it.

''Should I check our magic books for any sword related magic Kaichou?'' Kusaka asked, the braided girl probably wants to help me out.

''Later.'' She declared as she got up from her seat, her eyes full of vigor. ''Now that we know their respective elements, it time to witness their powers.''

* * *

''You sure it's ok we do it here?'' I asked a little unsure of the place Kaichou has selected as a test ground for our powers. The school gym to be exact.

Hanakai waved her hand and smiled at me without a care in the world. ''Its fine, we set up several barriers around the building. Even if something were to explode in here no one would notice.''

''That's reassuring.'' I commented with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. It's the fact that we are doing all of this in broad daylight that I'm worried about.

''Will you quit with your nagging already Emiya.'' Saji told me while stretching his body as if he was preparing for PE.

''Only when you will fix your temper.'' I commented as I rolled my eyes at his brutish attitude. I swear, its like this guy looks for the first opportunity to look for a fight.

''Why you!'' He gritted his teeth in frustration, his hands clenching into fists.

''Am I seeing violence between you two or I am mistaken?'' Kaichou asked from the side track, Saji freezing the moment he heard her sweet yet cold voice.

''N-Not at all Kaichou!'' Saji straightened his position, his face sweating violently.

''Emiya you should also try refrain from provoking him so often.'' She directed her ice cold gaze to me now. Seriously what's up with her look, it feels like the temperature drops around us when she does it.

''I'm doing my best.'' I said with a sigh as I stretched my neck, a loud crack sound resonating in it. It's not like I am enjoying getting in small quarrels with Saji, but the guy really gets under skin sometimes. I actually feel like i'm dealing with a delinquent from time to time.

''I hope you do.'' She commented as she walked in front of us. I couldn't help but notice that she and the other members changed in their gym uniforms. Was there any need for them to change since Saji and I are the ones doing the training?

''Moving on, I will ask both of you to take a step forward.'' We both did as our master told us. She first looked at me. ''Emiya have you had any successful attempts on using your powers?''

I let out a sigh in defeat. ''No... I tried a few times, but I feel like I'm missing something very important to it. Like a trigger.''

''I see. What about you Saji, did you manage to figure your sacred gears powers?''

Saji sighed very similar to how I did. ''No luck on my side either. I can summon it without any problem, but I still don't know what it does or how to use it.''

''This will be long day.'' I heard Yura comment at us.

''Indeed.'' Sona rubbed the bridge of her nose. ''Saji take the left side and Emiya the right.''

She was silent for a few moments, holding her chin and making a thinking sound. ''I want you both to listen carefully. Saji I want you to summon your sacred gear and try and spar with Yura. Perhaps the rush of the fight will cause you to activate its powers on reflex. Nimura and Tsubaki, keep a close eye on him and note down any changes in his sacred gear. Also Yura be sure to make him feel the danger of the fight, but also hold back your strength. I don't want any injured people.''

''Yes Kaichou!'' all three of them nodded.

''Now about you Emiya.'' She stared at me for a few moments then let out a tired sigh. ''I honestly don't know where I should begin with you. It was short, but I could tell that your powers weren't something normal or common when I got summoned by you.'' she took walked a few steps and got closer, her eyes were analyzing me with their stare. ''But if I were to go by what you described, you will need something to trigger your power. I think that the best way to that is to recreate what triggered it in the first place.''

This sound interesting, but confusing at the same time. ''What do you mean?''

''I want you to close your eyes and visualize. Remember every sensation you felt when you first use it, remember what drove you to use it the first place. Try to recreate the whole event in your mind.'' She explained as she took few steps back.

I nodded to her request, it was actually a good idea. Why didn't I think about it? ''I understand.''

She pointed her hand to the two bishops. ''Hanakai and Kusaka, keep a close eye on him. We don't know the exact nature of his powers, if something seems to go wrong I want you to stop him.''

The two girls nodded silently and got closer to me.

I took a deep breath and closed, trying to recall everything that happened that day. Every image, sound, feeling, smell, emotion.

Images flashed through my mind as I tried to recall. My eyes snapped opened as I remembered. How could I be so damn stupid?

''Kaichou.'' I called to my bespectacled master that was keeping an eye on Saji, she turned around and looked at me. ''When you saved me, was there by any chance an odd looking card near me?''

''A card?'' She tilted her head confused at my question. ''No, I don't recall seeing one.''

''I see...'' I silently nodded as I closed my eyes again. This certainly raises many questions. Last time I was able to use that strange power because I had that weird card, somehow I know that my powers are linked to it and that the card acted like some sort of medium.

But where is it?

Kaichou said that she didn't see it, so I doubt that she picked it up. Also I'm sure that Iri and the others home would have told me if they found it.

So where could it have gone? Did it vanish after I used it? No that can't be it, Kaichou did say that she feels an unusual energy from me, so that means I still have its powers...

Wait... The evil pieces fuse with the body of the reincarnated devil. So that means that things can be fused in a body or placed in a body, like the sacred gears.

Could the card have fused with my body?

If that is true... how do I activate it?

Try to remember. There was something that I shouted to activate last time. Like password or trigger. What was it?

I remember it started with the letter 'I', but what was it?

Think... think... think...

My eyes and mouth automatically opened. The words came out by themselves. ''Include.''

As I declared those words I could feel a warm sensation in my chest. It quickly moved to my right hand, powerful cyan light flashed from it, illuminating the whole gym and getting everybody's attention. When the light faded, what I found wasn't what I expected. It was a long bow made of an strange black material.

''Wow, you did it.'' Meguri jumped behind me, peaking at the weapon in my hand from every angle she could think of.

''That's his weapon?'' Hanakai tilted her head confused as she looked at the weapon.

''A bow sacred gear?'' Yura, who apparently stopped beating up Saji, asked.

''Is it by any chance Jade Archery?'' Nimura asked exited.

This peaked my attention. ''Jade Archery?''

''Oh right sorry, I like researching about sacred gears since they are so interesting.'' She poked her index fingers together. ''I remember that among the ones I read about, there was a bow-type sacred gear called Jade Archery. It takes the form of a jade color bow, and the user is able to create arrows of different elements and abilities by using his imagination.''

Creating arrows of any kind by imagining them, somehow that power seems a bit broken if you ask me, but then again I did read that there are many sacred gears that defy logic, and those aren't even Longinus types. ''That sounds pretty interesting, but this bow is not Jade Archery. For one its color is black not jade, and second, I know for a fact that this thing isn't a sacred gear.''

''Are you sure?'' Kusaka asked with a puzzled expression, my guess is she is wondering what else it could be if not a sacred gear.

''Very. Also...'' I stared at the weapon in my hand. No matter how I look at it I can't help but feel something is very wrong with it. ''This form doesn't feel right.''

This doesn't make sense. My clothes are still the same, my body isn't filled with the same sensation and a bow got called instead. Did I use a different ability?

I concentrated and remember the two swords that I used to defeat that man, those two beautiful swords. The symbol of duality that they represented, the fine craftsmanship, the dangerous sharpness.

Again my body went into autopilot and acted without my control. ''Include: Switch.''

Light erupted once more from my hands, the bow disappeared and in its place the twin swords took its place. I firmly gripped on their handles, enjoying their feeling, also getting a somewhat nostalgic feeling from them. ''Now this is better.''

''Swords?'' Shinra-senpai looked at them sceptical.

''Wow they look so cool!'' Meguri cheered excited.

''At least this confirms that this isn't a sacred gear.'' Kaichou commented as she examined the blades.

''Why is that?'' I asked confused.

''For one thing it's confirmed that there isn't a creation type sacred gear that allows the user to create weapons of different classes. '' She explained as changed her attention from Kansho to Bakuya.

''Could he possess multiple sacred gears?'' Kusaka asked while cupping her chin.

''No, it's impossible. A human can only be born with only one sacred gear. There have been rare cases of people possessing multiple sacred gears, but those were all due to implanting or transferring a sacred gear into a host that already possessed one. While it is possible for the body to host multiple sacred gears, it is impossible to be naturally born with them, but also from what I read, the said sacred gears must be of close nature, otherwise there is a risk of them rejecting each other.'' Nimura explained carefully. Interesting, so even if a human isn't born with a sacred gear that doesn't mean that he or she can't get one later.

Now that I think about it, there was a small theory regarding sacred gears that I read in that guide book. It was basically a study that tried to demonstrate that a sacred gear user's personality is often influenced by their sacred gear. Something about lingering emotions and traits of the former wielders getting inherited by the new owner.

''This certainly creates more questions than answers.'' Shinra-senpai commented, thank you so much for stating the obvious.

''They certainly have a rather exotic look.'' Hanakai commented as she starred at the craftsmanship of the blades. I have to agree with her, after all these swords are actually Chinese falchions, a type of weapon unused in Japan. ''Do you have any idea what their called?''

I looked at the weapons, even though I only used them once, I feel like I have used them all my life, somehow I know everything about them. ''Yeah... their called Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, otherwise known as Kanshou and Bakuya for the Japanese.''

''Wait, as in the twin married swords ?'' Meguri cut in as her eyes were locked on my swords.

''The what?'' Saji tilted his head confused, clearly he didn't he understood what she was talking about.

''They are the swords mentioned that originate from China. A story describes how a blacksmith couple was order by the King of Wu to forge him a pair of swords that could reach the realm of Gods.'' The group's knight explained. ''It's actually quite a tragic story. The wife sacrificed herself so that the husband could use her essence and forge weapons to match the king's demands. After the two swords were forged the husband gave only one of them to the king and kept the other for himself. The king took it as an insult and ordered the husband to be killed for his defiant action. Rather than being famous for their wielders or their achievements, their known for the great sacrifice made in order for them to be forged.''

I was rather surprised that Meguri actually knew about them. Not to insult her or anything, but the history and legend of these two swords are rather obscure compared to other legendary weapons.

''If those are really famous swords just how did you find them?'' Nimura asked, I could see the skepticism in her eyes.

''No idea.'' I shrugged my shoulders, my reaction made everyone stare at me rather sharp. I wasn't lying actually since I have no idea how the swords are related to my power. ''They are part of my power somehow, but I don't know the exact nature of it or how I got.''

There was silence in the room for a few minutes. Guess everyone took their time and thought just what my powers could be if they're not sacred gear based. But the said silence was short lived.

''Kaichou!''

''What is it Meguri?'' Kaichou asked the girl that broke her and everyone one else out of their mediation.

''Can I spar a little with Emiya, pretty please?'' she clapped her hands and made a face similar to a small dog begging for a treat.

Sona stared at her for a few moments, displaying a perfect poker face. ''May I ask why?''

''Well, I have a small case of swordsman pride, so having a fellow sword user so close makes me want to test my skills against them.''

''Then how come you never challenged Kiba-san to duel before?'' Yura smirked at her while she rolled her eyes.

''That's a different matter!'' Meguri protested with a hint of pink in her cheeks. ''That guy has a 'never hurt a girl unless is really necessary' policy and is almost impossible to make him spar with me.''

Now that I think about it, during my fight with Neculai my body somehow knew how to fight and acted by itself, as if it was in a state of auto-pilot. Was it something that occurred by itself or did I triggered it?

I have the same weapons like last time, but will I be able to use them like I did before?

I let out a tired sigh. ''Do you really want us to spar Kaichou?''

''I'm not sure. If I'm not mistaken you don't have any formal training in swordsmanship do you Emiya?'' I nodded slightly. True, officially I don't have any training in using swords, but I do have some combat training that Maiya-san has been drilling in me for the past days. While I can't hold a candle to Maiya-san, I did learn a thing or two from her. But how much will it help me against a devil opponent? ''I won't force you, but if you indulge Meguri request I would appreciate it.''

''No, it's ok.'' I waved my hand, she probably was worried about the two of us getting hurt. While I appreciate the thought, I need to uncover the secrets of this powers... and to do that I need a lot of practice. ''To be honest I want to see if I can fight using these swords.''

Our master stared at me and Meguri for a few moments, I could see that she was processing the whole situation. She closed her eyes and let a tired sigh. ''Very well, but only until first blood is drawn or until one of the sides is too exhausted to continue.''

When the others finished clearing the court, Meguri and I went to the center of it and stood in front of each other. She waved her hand to the side, the air around it distorting for a few seconds, something similar to a portal opened above her hand and a Japanese katana began flowing out of the portal. She slowly took the weapon and unsheathed it, the sound of the blade being drawn lingering in the air. Somehow I could tell that the sword she was wielding was one of very high quality. My fingers gripped around the handles of my own swords... somehow I felt a little excited. ''I didn't thought I would spend my day like this to be honest.''

''Me too actually.'' Meguri laughed as she took her battle stance. ''Now then, let's see what you're made of Emi-chan!''

I almost dropped my swords, the edge of my mouth was trembling uncontrollably. ''...Emi-chan?''

''What you don't like it?'' she tilted her head confused. ''I initially thought of going with 'Shi-chan', but if I used that one Saji might think I'm calling him, you know since your first name and his are pretty identical, I mean you Shirou him Genshirou.''

While there was some good intention and logical explanation behind her action it didn't help too much. ''Please... just don't call me that.''

She put her finger over her lips and looked at me with long eyes. ''Why not?''

Seriously, making such a cute face only makes me feel more awkward. ''I-It's weird. I mean it sounds like a girl's nickname.''

''Not enjoying a cute nickname?'' she asked me with a small pout. ''It's a shame though, I think it suits you.''

''Are you two gonna fight today or what?!'' Saji shouted from the edge of the gym, somehow I feel grateful to him for ending this really weird conversation.

Meguri scratched her cheek awkwardly. ''How about we finish this later?''

''I would like that.'' I smiled tiredly at her, personally I would rather never have that conversation again. '' Please go easy on me.''

''Ok then!'' she smiled brightly, the feeling I was getting from her suddenly changing. She changed her stance, raising her katana with one hand to her shoulder level. ''Here I come!''

I only blinked once. The moment I opened my eyes Meguri was right in front of me. Her sword was aimed at my shoulder.

So this is the speed of a knight...

The speed of her thrust, the direction of the attack... I can't dodge it in time!

Should I try deflect it using Kansho? Or Bakuya?

No...

When her sword reached me, it wasn't blood that was drawn, instead small lights danced around us. I used both Kansho and Bakuya to deflect her sword, their clash resonated, the force of their collision creating dozens of sparks.

Our bodies were close, my gold eyes met her brown ones. Her expression was stunned, no doubt she didn't expect me to block her strike. Whatever confusion or shock she had was however replaced by an excited smile. '' Ohhh, you're not bad at all! But you're still not good enough to beat me.''

She pulled back her sword and began attacking me relentlessly. I was somehow managed to dodge and block all of the strikes, but those weren't random swings. Each slash and thrust were made with swift and precise motion, I could feel the years of training she put in her swordsmanship.

Having two swords might seem like an advantage for me from a bystander's point of view, but it certainly wasn't so simple. The twin swords are much heavier than a regular sword, while Meguri's katana is much lighter, giving her room for fast strikes. Even if I'm able to block her sword with one of mine, by the time I could use the other to strike her, she would already retract her sword and attack me again. We were basically in a stale mate, while I couldn't strike her, she also didn't have an easy time with my defense.

Weird... this feels very different from last time I used my powers. At that time it felt like my very perception was enhanced, and I had no problem dealing with Neculai's attacks. Which is weird since they were almost as fast Meguri strikes.

While our stale mate was holding, I could hear the others commenting from the sides of the gym.

''Interesting. While Tomoe isn't using her full strength, he is still managing to keep up with her.'' I hear Shinra-senpai comment. I could somewhat guess that the girl I'm facing isn't using all of her capabilities, but how much is she holding back?

''Yes... but will he be able to keep up with her sword techniques?'' I hear Kaichou comment. I'm actually curious about that myself.

''Go Meguri! Wipe the floor with him!'' Saji cheered like a rabid football fan.

I tried to ignore Saji and focus on the swordswoman in front of me. I have my swords crossed in an 'X' position, keeping her katana blocked. ''For a guy using two swords you're rather docile!''

While her words didn't exactly upset me or anything, they did have some truth in them. I might have had some self-restrictions since I was fighting a girl, but I need to start fighting back seriously!

I poured my strength in my arms and pushed her back, our swords separating. I stepped forward and began attacking her, the hunter has now become the hunted. I was pushing her back until she ran out of space to run. She was with her back to the wall.

I pushed both swords forward, aimed to her left and right shoulders. Even if she could deflect one of them, there was still another.

''So you finally decided to strike back!'' she smiled exited. Sparks flee as she used the blade of the katana to deflect Kanshou, while she simultaneously jabbed the hilt in Bakuya. She stopped both swords! ''Now this is gonna be fun!''

I jumped backwards, avoiding the kick aimed at my chin. Such flexibility, to kick so high from such a disadvantageous position. I tried ignoring the panties that were peeking out of her training shorts. ''For a beginner you fight pretty darn well!'' she chuckled as she corrected her stance. ''I might have to fight you serious.''

The next moment she dashed and cleared the distance between us, I barely managed to block her strike, she was much faster this time. ''What's the matter Emi-chan, out of ideas?'' she taunted me as she aimed for my ribs. Damn her attacks are also more precise than earlier.

I need to make her drop her guard. But how?

Right now she is basically pushing me back, I barely have time to block and dodge let alone strike. I'm running out of breath, I won't be able to hold on for long. If I could make catch her in a moment when she isn't able to react... wait.

If she will respect the same attack pattern she used up until now, I might just get her. It's a bit of a long shot, but I don't have any other ideas.

I changed the position of my guard as she was closing in on me. She noticed my move and smiled victoriously. ''You're mine!'' she laughed as she aimed her sword to my unguarded ribs.

When her sword was near to my ribs I couldn't contain my smirk. ''I know.''

Her smile dropped, morphing into a shocked glare, but it was already too late. I blocked her sword with mine in the last moment, the momentum of her attack caring her closer and closer to me.

One fast and swift swing. She didn't have time to block or dodge it.

Blood was dripping on the floor from the tip of Kanshou. I managed to cut her shoulder, I did it.

''Kaichou you said until first blood right?'' I turned and looked at the spectators. All of them were starring with widen eyes at me, guess they weren't expecting me to win. I lifted Kanshou and showed the blood dripping from it. ''I guess this is my win.''

I walked slowly towards the stunned gallery, seriously they were staring at me like I had two heads or was naked.

''How in Lucifer's unholy name did he beat her?!'' Saji grabbed his head and screamed in shock.

''I-I'm not sure... Meguri had the upper hand and yet...'' Yura commented uncertain of what she just saw.

I took a quick glance to my master who was watching my every move, as if trying to figure out just what kind of creature I am. I chuckled slightly and closed one of my eyes. ''Is that satisfying master?''

''Eh?'' she blinked a few times, waking up from her little trance. ''Y-Yes, it was... unexpected. I was a bit skeptical about it at first, but your skills are indeed real.'' Her lips curled into a small smile. The said smiled faded when she looked behind me. I turned around and saw my fellow sword user approaching, her bags covering her eyes. ''Is something wrong Meguri?''

''The only thing wrong here is this guy's head!'' she pointed her katana at me and accused in indignation, her usual cheerful smile was all gone.

''What do you mean?'' Hanakai asked her friend confused.

''During my last attack he intentionally left his vitals open.'' She complained as she pointed to my ribs. Was it really that bad what I did?

''So?'' Saji crossed his arms and tilted his head confused.

''Don't you get it. By dropping his guard he basically invited me to strike for his open vitals.'' She explained to the blonde pawn, then changed her gaze back to me. ''Then when I took the bait he countered in the last second and attacked me while I was still confused.''

''I don't understand. Isn't it a good thing if he can counter attacks?'' Nimura asked confused.

''It is, but not like this. It's one thing to counter an attack when you were careless or when the enemy surprised you, but it's a whole different story when you intentionally let your guard down.''

''Aren't you being a little salty cuz Emiya beat you?'' Saji asked with half lidded eyes.

''It's not about that!'' she snapped at him, making the pawn jump back in fear. ''The tactic he used was beyond reckless! If he was even a second too slow he could have got seriously injured, or worse die!''

''Is that true?'' Sona asked me, her face was nothing but pure seriousness.

I was silent for a few seconds, a tired sigh accompanied with a shrug followed. ''I just did what I could to win. If it would have been indeed a real battle with people's life's at stake I would have do all can to defeat my opponent.''

''You can't just fight like that!'' Meguri snapped at me. ''That kind of fighting style can get you killed the moment you make a mistake!''

''Perhaps.'' I admitted with a sigh. ''I haven't been formally trained in swordsmanship, so it was the best I could come up on the moment.''

''But it's wrong! It not just about sword teaching, it about your own sense common sense! People don't just intentionally put themselves at risk!'' she kept complaining only to stop when Kaichou put her hand in front of her.

''That's enough Meguri.'' She demanded from her knight.

''But Kaichou he-''

''I said that's enough.'' She told her in same previous tone, only somehow much colder. ''As much as I agree with you that what he did was reckless, complaining to him won't help.''

She turned her gaze towards me. ''I will overlook it this time, but I won't a second time. I will look for a proper instructor for you, until then any sword training is on hold.''

I didn't like where this was going. I just figured out the way to call my swords and now she tells me that I can't use them. ''Now wait a second you can't just-''

''Do I make myself clear?'' her voice felt like a layer of ice slowly encasing my body, making me unable to move or protest. I nodded slightly in defeat.

''Good.'' She nodded as she turned her back on me, looking at with the edge of her eye. ''Don't take this the wrong way Emiya, if I ignore things that may result in your harm, then I am a failure as a king and as a person.''

''Saji let's get back to you.'' she gestured to the blond pawn, the said person nodding and following her, the others doing the same.

I was now alone in this empty corner. A feeling of disappointment feeling my stomach, even if I manage to use my powers I somehow feel like a made a mistake bigger than not using them at all.

I don't understand why they acted like that. A person should do whatever they could in a fight if lives were at stake. I know we were just sparring, but why did Meguri act like that?

Man... my life sure is getting more and more complicated.

 _ **''Your little master sure burned you.''**_

Someone whispered to me in an amused tone. I instantly looked around me only to see the empty space and the others trying to help Saji further away. There was no one who could say that.

 _I must be more stressed than I thought... I'm starting to hear voices..._

 _ **''Actually its voice, in singular. Also about time you finally hear me, I was literally talking to the sky up until now.''**_ The chuckle was much more accentuated this time, sounding as if it was smug.

 _Oh shit... Iri did warn me that if I keep getting my head bashed in the wall by Sella I will one day go crazy! I thought she was just joking!_

 ** _''You ok?''_**

 _I'm so not gonna listen or respond to a figment of my imagination! Acknowledging its existence it's the first step towards a mental asylum!_

 _ **''I don't know if I should be amused or confused by your reaction.''**_

 _Ignore it. Ignore it. Maybe it will go away._

 _ **''Ok look kid, for one, you're not going crazy and two, I don't know if I can go away even if I want to.''**_

...

 _Ok I will play along. How do I know I'm not going crazy and you're not some kind of Schizophrenia symptom?_

 _ **''Look if was indeed a type of delusion my knowledge would be limited to your own. The mind can't give you information you never heard or saw yourself.''**_ He explained to me though it didn't help me too much.

 _Your point is?_

 _ **''Tsk, just my luck... Let me put it this in a way you will understand. Have you ever heard of tejpat, tamarind, poppy seeds, marjoram, lovage, kokam, greater galangal, fenugreek, cambodge, or maybe asafoetida.''**_

 _No... What are those?_

 _ **''They're spices, many of them used in popular Indian dishes.''**_ He explained to me with a rather satisfying sounding voice. _ **''Now if I was indeed a figment of your imagination or something similar there was no way I could know something that you personally had no way of knowing.''**_

I took a few moments and processed what he told me.

 _Fine you made your point, but then what are you?_

 _ **''Truth to be told I'm not sure myself what my current status is. I never experience something quite like this.''**_

 _That sure helps me..._

 _ **''Look kid I'm just as confused as you are. Do you think I actually enjoyed suddenly waking up inside the head of some else?''**_

 _Fine. Fine. You made your point._

 ** _''Of course I did.''_**

 _I see... Wait a minute, you mentioned something about talking and me not hearing you. What was that about?_

 ** _''Well ever since I found myself in this situation I've been trying to make contact with you, but you wouldn't hear no matter how much I commented or ranted.''_**

 _Wait... all those random things I've been hearing from time to time was because of you?_

 _ **''Oh, so you did hear me.''**_

 _Yeah... now this situation feels even weirder... should I ask Kaichou about you? Maybe she has an idea what's going on with you?_

 ** _''I'm gonna go with no at that one.''_**

 _Would you be so kind and explain why?_

 _ **''Supernatural or otherwise, if you tell her that you are hearing voices in your head she will either make you an appointment at a psychiatric doctor, or try to exorcise you to get rid of me. And trust me exorcisms rituals aren't pretty.''**_

 _You sound like you're scared._

 ** _''More like I'm trying to prologue my unexpected vacation as much as I can.''_**

 _What do you mean by that?_

 _ **''Let's just say that my everyday job is very nasty and I never have any form of vacation... well except the times that I'm randomly summoned by a violent tsundere.''**_

 _Huh?_

 ** _''Nothing, nothing, just ranting a little. My point is that I want some time to relax and recharge my batteries._**

 _Anyway... so you want me to keep all of this secret from her?_

 _ **''Cut me some slack will you. The moment you tell her about me, your life will get even more complicated than it already is. Also getting rid of me isn't such a great idea.''**_

 _Why? For what reason should I keep you my head?_

 ** _''For one thing you owe me for saving you.''_**

 _What?! When did that happen?_

 _ **''You might not remember it, but when you were fighting that man it was me that gave you the power to stop him.''**_

 _Y-You mean..._

 _ **''Yeah. Somehow when you were dying there, you made a connection to me using that card you had on you. You were gonna die so I thought might as well gave you a hand.''**_

 _O-Oh... I g-guess I should thank you then._

 _ **''No need. I pretty much did it on whim, besides I was certain you were gonna die after using my powers. No offence, but using powers beyond your capabilities will always have consequences, and considering that you used mine without any kind of formal training or understanding of them was fatal. Now that I think about it, I don't know if you died from the blood loss or from the aftershock of using my powers.''**_

 _So these weird powers are actually yours?_

 _ **''That's about it. Also don't call them weird, it's insulting.''**_

 _Wait... you said that I might have died from the aftershock of using your powers. So does that mean I might die again if I keep using them?!_

 _ **''Depends actually. Your body is much more durable than a normal human now, plus your family and your little devil friend are training you now, so you might just be able to develop control over my powers without any backlashes.''**_

 _I see._

 _ **''Actually let's make some ground rules. The technique you used the first time is called Install, it basically overwrites your existence with my own, making you able to use all of my techniques and skills, but its very taxing and to be honest I don't know what side effects may occur if you use it now. For that I'm keeping tabs on it and seal it for the time being. So my advice is that you stick to Include.''**_

 _What's the difference between them?_

 _ **''Well while the Install usually gives you the full set of the abilities, the Include usually gives you a weapon. So that being said, I recommend you learn how to wield Kanshou and Bakuya for the moment.''**_

 _Wow..._

 ** _''What?''_**

 _Don't know it's just, you're awfully helpful._

 _ **''Not really. I'm just making sure you don't kill yourself before I get a chance to enjoy my vacation.''**_

 _Just what kind of job did you have to make you like this?_

 _ **''Believe me kid you don't want to know.''**_

 _Wait a second. We've been talking like this for a while, and I don't even know your name._

 _ **''Yeah about that... I don't know it myself.''**_

 _Wait what?_

 _ **''I don't know why but many of my memories are messed up. Normally cards like the one you use aren't sentient like how I am now, the fact that we are communicating like is a sign that something must have happened to make us like this.''**_

 _Do you have any idea what exactly?_

 _ **''I told you before, while my memories are a bit fuzzy I know for a fact this never happened before to me.''**_

 _Then what could have happened to..._

 ** _''Did you figure something out?''_**

 _Wait... there's was this weird dream I had, right before I awoke after I was resurrected. I saw one of my pieces get ripped out of my body and fly towards a man in a red shroud. Could that have any meaning?_

 _ **''Hmm... Red shroud you say... Yep that's me alright. Actually that could explain some stuff. It might be a long shot, but I think that when you were revived, the fragment of my consciousness that was inside of the card was also revived, making me a fully sentient existence. That could explain how I found myself in your mind perfectly aware of myself, and the moment you used Include earlier, a proper communication line was established between us. Those evil piece sure are interesting.''**_

 _Yeah they are... wait how do you know about the evil pieces?_

 ** _''I was getting to that. You see my card somehow fused together with your own body and it created an advance form of psychic link between us. In simpler terms the things that you learn and experience, I will as well. You should be glad that I saw how the situation is and what really happened after the fight, otherwise I wouldn't be having this conversation with you.''_**

 _Why's that?_

 _ **''Let's just say that I wouldn't really jump at the idea of having my soul dammed and helping a devil or other inhuman monsters. While I don't like to judge, most of them try to kill or torment me and any human they come across.''**_

 _I-I see..._

 _So then... if you don't recall your name, what should I call you?_

 _ **''Archer... let's leave it at that.''**_

 _Then nice to meet you Archer. I'm Emiya Shirou._

 _ **''Ummm...''**_

 _Is something wrong? Why did you growl like that?_

 _ **''I don't know... somehow your name irritates me.''**_

 _How could my name-_

''Kyaahhh!'' a high pitched scream pulled me back to my sense and to the people in the room. I looked at the source of the scream and saw something rather odd happening to Hanakai. ''Saji get it out of my clothes!''

''I'm trying but it won't listen to me!'' the said pawn complained as he try pulling his hand back, the others helping him. The said hand was covered with a black gauntlet of some sorts with a lizard motif. From the mouth of the lizards head a glowing cable was somehow finding its way beneath Hanakai's clothes. I could see the tentacle like cable squirming under her clothes, all the way in her pantie-

''Emiya stop daydreaming and helps them!'' the white haired bishop cried in frustration.

I suddenly realized that I was starring and ran to help with the problem. ''R-Right!''

 _ **''Something tells me that I will really enjoy this vacation.''**_

* * *

And that's how my whole nightmare with Archer began...

While I can't really say that he is a bad person...

Oh who the hell am I kidding, the guys a total dick. Most of the time he just gives me the silent treatment, and the times he talks to me is when he finds something to make fun of me with.

Seriously, this guy makes the words annoying take a whole new meaning.

It took me a while to realize that if I'm not careful, he can hear every single thing that I'm thinking. I need to keep a clear and straight thinking process otherwise he could hear every piece of information that I'm processing. I really don't want to give him any more nagging materials for him to use on me.

I sighed and got up from the table, picking up my dishes and taking them to the sink.

''Onii-chan are you busy right now?'' Illya asked me, there was a grain of rice on her cheek.

I smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of my head. ''Actually I have to go out for a while.''

''At this hour?'' Miyu tilted her head confused. ''Where are you going?''

Time to see if I have any acting skills. ''W-Well we have an exam soon so some of my classmates decided to hold a study group tonight.''

 ** _''You know it's not very nice to lie your sister.''_**

 _Oh shut up. Do you honestly want me to tell her the truth and say 'Oh don't worry Illya, me and my devil friends are going hunting for dangerous stray devils tonight. No need to wait for since I'll arrive late.'_

 ** _''You could at least do some half-truths. That aside, I would be more cautious if I were you. Just because your master told that you and that Saji kid are only going as spectators to see how stray hunts are done that doesn't mean you can let your guard down. You never know what could happen.''_**

 _I guess your right..._

''Oh... I see.'' Illya nodded with a sigh.

''Did you need my help with something?'' I asked a bit confused after noticing the small trace of disappointment on her face.

She began scratching the back of her head awkwardly. ''Actually we were wondering if you would like to watch some Magical girls anime's with us.''

''O-Oh... sorry, maybe some other time.'' I managed to tell them while holding a straight face. As much as I love them I just can't comprehend the things that they like to watch.

 ** _''So I take it you aren't into magical girl's anime?''_**

 _... Do I look like I am?_

 ** _''Just asking. No need to be all hostile towards me.''_**

 _I'm more into sword fighting anime's._

 ** _''You don't say?... Oh the irony.''_**

''How long will you be gone?'' Liz interrupted me before I could retort to Archer.

''I'm not sure. I will probably arrive a bit late, so don't wait for me.'' I told them the truth. I'm sure the hunt will take at least a few hours so it will be very late by the time I return. ''Anyway good night.''

I threw my school bag over my shoulder and headed straight to the front door. I stopped walking when I felt a strong grip on my shoulder. I turned around only to see Iri looking at me with a very serious face.

''I take it you are meeting with little Miss Sitri and her peerage am I right?'' her voice was missing its usual childish tone, her eyes filled with concern.

''Yeah...'' I answered her honestly, even though they know what's going on with my life right, I try not to involve them in it.

''I understand.'' She nodded as she put her hand in her pocket. ''There is something I want you to carry with you all the time.''

This made me raise an eyebrow. A good luck charm perhaps? ''Iri look you didn't have to-''

''No I insist!'' she grabbed my hand and placed the object in it. ''Boys your age should always carry one with them.''

This made me curious. I looked at the object she placed in my hand. A small circular object covered in square plastic cover...

...

''Iri...'' I began slowly, my eye and the corner of my mouth twitching very badly. I honestly never thought I was gonna ask my mom this. ''Could you please tell me why are you giving me a condom?''

She put her hand on her hip, and pointer her finger to my face. ''Now listen carefully Shirou. As much as I would love to see you enjoy the springtime of your youth together with a nice girl, or girls depending on the case, I can't let you be reckless.''

What?

''Even though I would jump up in the air at the idea of many cute grandchildren, I wouldn't like waking up one day with parents of a high school girl at our front door angry at you for knocking up their daughter.''

Okay, again now. What?

''Taking in account that the group you're now involved has a number of seven high school girls, all of which never had any boyfriends, and if my sources are correct none of them even kissed a boy before, the risk of some of them falling for you is pretty high. If I were to add all of these together, the risk of you getting someone pregnant increases by a large margin. So I must make sure that you properly protect yourself.''

...

 ** _''You know what, I didn't know what to think about her the first time I saw her, but I'm really starting to like your mother.''_**

 _Shut up Archer! The only reason you're saying that is because she is the second person after you that gives me such a hard time._

 _ **''And that's why I like her.''**_

''I can't believe we are having this conversation right now...'' I covered my forehead in frustration with my hand, trying to ignore the smugness in Archer's voice.

Iri crossed her arms under her chest and puffed her checks. ''I know right. I keep telling Kiritsugu that he needs to have the father son talk with you, but he always crawls his way out of it.''

''Right...'' I managed to mutter while turning around to leave in an attempt to keep sanity intact. ''I will leave now, I wouldn't want to be late.''

''Shirou.'' Her voice resonated in the air like a whip, stopping me in my tracks. ''All jokes aside, try to be careful. You can never know what might happen.''

I could see the concern in her eyes. Sometimes I forget that under all the quirkiness and childish personality, Iri is still my mom, and she would feel uneasy like any mom would knowing that I'm doing something dangerous. ''I will try.''

She smiles bitterly at me, her eyes slightly cringing. ''Please be careful Shirou. The life of people like us is a constant dance with death.''

''Don't worry.'' I closed my eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. ''I was given a second chance to life and I'm not gonna waste it.'' I told her as I stepped out of the house and began walking towards the school.

 ** _''So... why are you walking?''_**

 _I don't know, maybe it's the fact that my demonic energy is so weak that I can't even do even a basic teleportation spell._

 ** _''No need to be all sarcastic with me.''_**

 _Like you aren't all the time._

 ** _''Just trying to make some small talk. You said something earlier about sword fighting anime's, wanna talk about one?''_**

 _Seriously? You want to talk about anime?_

 ** _''I'm kinda bored. Plus do you have anything better to do until you arrive to the school?''_**

 _Fine. I recently got hooked on one about this teenage boy that could see ghosts. One day he-_

* * *

 ** _''So let me get this straight. He and his dad pulled that final technique out of nowhere without any mentioning up until then, he sacrificed all of his powers to defeat that weird butterfly guy and now is just a normal human?''_**

 _That's about it._

 ** _''And they ended the story like that?''_**

 _Actually there still episodes I need to see. Plus I haven't read the manga, so there might still be stuff I don't know._

 ** _''That's good then, I mean there are lot of questions answered. Hope they won't add any more filler though.''_**

 _Let's talk about that later. It's working time._

I opened the door to the student council room and greeted all the other members. ''Evening.''

The first one to notice was Saji who appeared rather annoyed. ''About time you got here Emiya. What took you so long?''

''Oh, I just lost track of time while chatting with the sarcastic jerk that's taking a vacation in the back of my head. That, and I had dinner with my family and I didn't notice how late it was.''

All devils present were silent and were staring at me as if I had two heads. Kaichou put her hand over her mouth and made a cough sound. ''Weird sense of humor aside... Next time try to be more punctual.''

If only they knew that I wasn't joking. ''Let's start the briefing.'' She gestured to her fellow bespectacled devil. ''Tsubaki.''

''Yes.'' She waved her hand and a magic circle appeared in the middle of the room, from it a hologram of a man appeared. His large and sculpted physique could put most body builders to shame. ''Recently we received reports of people disappearing around the outskirts of the town. Right around the time of the said disappearance we received a report stating a stray devil was sighted around the same area. Judging by its description we are dealing with the stray devil Scarin, a low-class level devil with strength of a mid-level one, former rook of the heir of the Valac household. He killed two members of his household and critically wounded his master, ripping of one of his arms in the process.''

''He managed to escape before the incident was discovered and he went into hiding, constantly changing his base of operation, occasionally resurfacing and killing any unfortunate bystanders.'' The hologram changed and now displayed a forest. ''If our sources are correct he will be in our territory for a few days. If we don't act tonight, chances are we will lose trail of him.''

So this is the target. ''Is there anything we need to know about his abilities?''

''Actually there is.'' Shinra-senpai waved her hand and the image changed to one of him elbowing a man in the face. ''During his youth he was a Muay Thai practitioner. After he was reincarnated he implement into his fighting style, making him stand out during rating games as rather violent and brutal individual. You should all be very careful of his knee and elbow strikes.''

''Due to his close quarter fighting style, we will need to fight him at a proper distance.'' Kaichou explained, getting up from her desk and walking in the middle of us.

''Tsubaki, Hanakai, Kusaka and I will be the main striking force. Due to his rook trait he will have a high endurance, so it may take some time before he goes down.'' She took a moment and looked to the side. ''To prevent him from attacking us, Yura and Meguri will act as vanguard.''

Hmm... Considering that the main sticking force is made of long ranged fighters that may be a good idea. Using magic based attacks to weaken him is actually a good idea, and should he get to close to them the vanguard could take the chance and strike him. But there is one problem.

''What about us?'' Saji took the words right out of my mouth.

''You and Emiya are still inexperienced when it comes to real combat and have yet to understand and master your powers, letting you join the battle could prove more dangerous, so you will only observe and Nimura will guard you. However, should something unexpected happen, you two must be ready to join us act as support.''

''Understood.'' I agreed, Saji only nodded silently, an unsatisfied scowl was slightly present on his face.

''Now then.'' Our master straightened her glasses as a large magic circle appeared under us. ''It's time to go hunting.''

* * *

We teleported to the designated area and began our search. The place was somewhat of an abandoned estate at the outskirts of a forest. We already searched in the forest and in the old vandalized house. To say that it was a productive one was a bit of stretch.

''You sure he's here?'' Saji complained as he kicked a tree in frustration, he kept repeating the same question for the past hour and to be honest it was somewhat beginning to get on my nerves.

''Reports say he was sighted in this area.'' Shinra-senpai said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, no doubt she was also getting tired of Saji whining.

''Then why haven't we saw anything until now?!'' the blond pawn snapped he kicked a small pebble on the ground.

''If you were a wanted dangerous fugitive would you rather try and stay hidden or go around like a jackass screaming 'Come and get me bitches'?'' Yura rolled her eyes in boredom, while not the same choice of words I would have used, she did make a good point. If the target is indeed here it's probably hiding somewhere we either can see, or wouldn't consider checking.

''And here I saw hoping to get back home quick...'' Hanakai sighed pessimistically.

''Is something wrong Momo?'' Kusaka asked her fellow bishop.

''There was a movie I really wanted to watch tonight. I left in a hurry and didn't get to turn on the recorder.''

''Is it the one you told me about yesterday?''

''Yeah... and I was so hyped to see it.''

Ignoring their rather easy going chat I trailed my eyes around the courtyard of the mansion. There was no trace of activity in the house, so the target didn't use it as a hideout.

A gentle breeze brushed against my hair, the cold night air was rather pleasent. My eyes widen as I felt a scent from the wind. It felt repulsing, but at the same time it felt very familiar, something my body was used to feeling. ''Is something wrong Emiya-senpai?'' Nimura question broke me out of my trance.

''No... It's nothing.'' I shook my head and went towards where the wind blew. The scent was gone, but I'm sure it came from somewhere close.

As my eyes were scanning the area, I suddenly stopped and fixed my gaze on a large rock in the middle of the courtyard.

Weird... as I looked at it, I could feel an unusual tingling in my eyes. For some reason no matter how much I stared at it there was only one thought that went through my mind.

''It doesn't belong here.'' I muttered to myself. I somehow knew that this rock was placed here by someone. I grabbed it and pushed it aside. I stared curiously at what was under it.

''Hey guys.'' They all turned their heads as they heard my shout. ''I think I might have found something.''

They all rushed to my side and stared at what was under the rock. ''A secret entrance?'' Kusaka asked confused.

It was a metallic trap door, just big enough for that rather large devil to fit in. ''No wonder we didn't find anything.'' Saji face palmed himself in frustration.

''Good job Emiya!'' Yura gave me a toothy grin while giving me a pat on the back. Even if she told me that, I did on instinct.

Now that I think about it... recently I feel like I know how to do stuff that I shouldn't know how.

''Everyone. Keep a sharp lookout.'' Our master ordered us as she opened the trap door.

* * *

The latter under the trap door led us very deep underground. When we reached the bottom I scanned the place. The tunnels seem man made, so my guess is that this place might have been a bunker or an escape tunnel of some kind.

''Guess he is hiding in these tunnels.'' Saji commented with a sigh.

My eyes slowly drifted to the person that has been ignoring me for the past few days. I walked next to her and slowly tapped my finger on her shoulder. ''Say Meguri.'' I began slowly, getting her attention. ''Are you still angry at me for what happened during our spar.''

''Eh?'' she blinked repeatedly for a few seconds while staring at me. She threw her hands and waved them left and right. ''Oh no, no, no, I'm not angry at you or anything, I just needed some time to cool down.''

She said that with a smile, and yet there was a deep silence between us now.

''Look Emi-chan.'' Meguri sighed as she looked at me with melancholic eyes. ''The only thing I ever had were my sword skills, skills which I had to work myself till exhaustion to develop. So when I see people pulling foolish or reckless stunts like the one you did, it makes me feel really angry.''

This made me curious. My eyes drifted towards her palms, they were cover in many calluses. Those aren't the palms of a high school girl, those are the ones of one who is constantly working them to the extreme. While it may answer some question, it only brings more. ''Why?''

''It's because it looks like it didn't matter to you. The skills you showed me might not be yours, but who ever developed them must have poured his soul into perfecting them, and by doing reckless moves like that it feels like it was all for nothing.''

I took a moment and processed everything she said. I guess from someone who probably worked all her life to develop her skills, seeing someone treat his own skills without any proper respect must be frustrating. I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. ''I will try to be more careful if that makes feel any better.''

She didn't say anything and walked passed me, but I did get a glimpse of a small smile.

As I continued to walk I noticed that everyone up ahead stopped walking and were just sitting in place. ''Oh great, we just had to find a crossroad.'' Hanakai sighed as rubbed the bridged of her nose.

'' We can't trace his demonic energy and splitting up isn't such a great idea. What do we do now?'' Kusaka asked of our master.

She was silent and stared at the four paths that were in front of her. I also took a curios look to the paths and my eyes narrow when I looked at the forth on the right. I felt a twinge in my nose, the same sensation I felt earlier is now back, but this time is much more potent. I slowly made my way towards the source.

''What do you think Emiya-senpai?'' Nimura asked me, I ignored her and continued walking, there was something down here.

''Emiya?'' Kaichou must have noticed my behavior.

''Where are you going?'' Ignored Shinra-senpai's question and moved on.

I reached a massive metal door, the scent was literally oozing from here. I slowly opened the door and walked in. The room was pitch dark and I couldn't see anything. I checked the nearby walls for any light switch. Luckily I had found.

I flipped it. The light bulb must have been old as it turn on and off every second. Those brief flashes of light were enough for me to see what was inside of the room. I regretted my choice the moment I truly saw what had caught my attention.

''Hey Emiya!'' I heard Saji's annoyed tone as he approached me. He was at the room entrance. The lights were not on. ''Dammit Emiya would you stop going-'' the lights went on and Saji froze in his tracks the moment he saw what was around me.

I heard foot steps behind him. The others must have caught up with us.

''Saji-senpai is something wrong?'' Nimura asked confused as he looked at the trembling body of her fellow pawn.

Saji's body began convulsing, he grabbed his mouth and leaped on his knees to the closest wall he could find. What came out of his mouth weren't words, but a physical thing. A painful growl echoed as he violently threw up the contents of his stomach.

''Saji what's wrong?!'' Kusaka rushed to his side and patted him on the back, trying to calm him down.

Kaichou didn't waste time and walked inside the room to see what caused the reaction of her pawn. Similar to him she froze in place as she saw the gruesome scene. She didn't throw up like Saji did but her eyes cringed in pain as she averted her gaze, her skin loosing color.

The other girls followed suit and looked inside. They weren't able to hold out like Kaichou did and were getting sick from the sight.

Who could blame them?

I took another look around the room. There were five bodies in the room, all of them tied in chains to the walls.

The first one had its abdomen slashed open, the ribs have been each snapped in half, the internal organs exposed and the intestines hanging lifelessly outside.

The second had its lower jaw partially ripped off, as it was hanging loosely in the air by a small piece of flesh that was refusing to rip off completely. No eyes were present in her head, just two hollow eye sockets. The nose was split open like a double closet, showing what was inside of it.

The third was missing its lower half, a part of her insides were hanging in the air while the others were laying right under her dismember form.

The forth had its members bended and snapped in an unnatural fashion. The broken bones from the arms and legs were sticking out, the bones whites couldn't be seen from all the blood and yellow marrow.

The fifth and final one had the most intact body compared to the others. This one had a number of random objects piercing its body, creating multiple puncture wounds. Those objects weren't stabbed randomly, each of them piercing an organ or artery, making the person bleed itself to death.

When I first entered the room I thought that the walls were painted red... I was wrong.

They were red from the blood of the victims. The floor was also covered in several small pools of blood and scattered pieces of ripped flesh and bone.

I understood now the scent that has been calling me to this room.

Death.

''How horrible.'' I heard Kaichou muttering with a disturbed voice. ''The reports did say that he was a sadist... but this...''

''D-Did the stray devil do all of this?'' Shinra-senpai let out a strained voice, the difficulty of keeping herself from puking could be noticed.

My eyes landed on the person with the puncture wounds, I slowly walked towards him. ''E-Emiya?'' I heard Kusaka muffle.

When I arrived in front of the body I put my index and middle finger on his throat. Nothing. ''They're all dead.'' I concluded as I draw my hand back. It was a bit of a long shot but I hoped that because this one had the less lethal wounds there might still be a chance he's alive.

''Emiya.'' I turned around when I heard Kaichou's disturbed voice. She, and everyone else were staring at me in disbelief. Their eyes filled with nothing but shock, confusion and fear.

My head tilted slightly to their reaction. ''What?''

No one said a thing, whenever they looked like were about to say something they remained silent. Saji made his way through them, his face pale, rubbing his mouth with his sleeve. ''A-Are you fucking right in the head?!'' he snapped in rage and disgust at me.

He pointed his finger towards the bodies. ''Just look at what he did to them! You walked in here without as much flinching and act like it's nothing really special for you to walk through blood and guts. How the hell can you even look at this whole horror and not be affected?!''

My mind went blank when I understood what he mean. I just walked my way through a pool of blood and human remains and haven't and didn't even stop for a second.

How is this not affecting me?

Why isn't it affecting?

Why can I look at this gore scene and not feel any sort of burden by it.

I do regret not arriving in time to save the people here, but the way they died isn't affecting me. It's like... I'm used to seeing death... It's like I'm used to seeing worse than this.

''Gahh... hah hah...'' I grabbed my chest as I grasped for air. Something is just wrong. ''I... I just...''

 _BAM!_

''What was that?!'' my breath calmed down when I heard Shinra-senpai's voice. I looked around and my eyes got stuck on the door on the other side of the room.

''Everyone regroup.'' Kaichou ordered, everyone responded, thought somewhat sluggish due to still being in shock.

 _BAM!_

''Over there!'' Yura shouted as the door was smashed open. From it a tower of a man slowly walked in. It was our target Scarin, but something seemed wrong.

When he got under the light of the room we all saw something that we weren't expecting. The stray devil that looked like he had an armor made out of pure muscles, was drenched from head to toe in his own blood.

He had five puncture wounds, twenty-seven lacerations, and most notable was the fact that he was missing his whole right arm. His face had nothing but pure fear painted on it.

He let out a twisted gasp before his legs game up and he fell on the floor. His body was shaking, he saw us and tried to open his mouth. ''M-Monster...'' was all that he could manage to speak before his eyes rolled up.

He went silent. Not even twitch from his body. He died.

The air seemed to freeze in the room, no one moving or saying anything. We were all to stun to by what series of events that occurred. Saji seemed to break out first. ''What the hell is going on here?! Why is our target dead?!'' he screamed in both fear and confusion.

My eyes drifted back to the door he came from as I heard foot step from it. A figure slowly emerged for the shadows.

''Hoo~ what do we have here? A small band of devil kids?'' the figure chuckled cheerfully as it made its way to.

I took note to the person appearance. It was a man, just a few years older than me, dressed in a pair of skin tight black jeans, a white t-shirt and black leather jacket. His hair was shoulder length, spiky in ends and blond in color, his skin was an unhealthy pale, his eyes are intense orange, finally under his left eye was tattoo reminiscent of a claw.

The thing that really got my attention was the black katana he was holding. I keep getting this uneasy feeling whenever I look at it.

My eyes locked on the blood that was dripping on the black blade of the katana. ''Did you do this to him?''

He simply shrugged and let a tired sigh. ''Kinda. I was just minding my own business taking a midnight stroll in these tunnels and suddenly that stray idiot appeared and tried to turn me into his new torture toy. He even made me drop my burger, could you believe that?!''

''You...'' I turned to Kaichou who looked at him in disbelief. ''Spiky yellow hair, intense orange eyes, a small claw like tattoo over the left cheek, and a black katana... no... not you.''

Her eyes tensed as she looked at the man. ''Kaichou who is he?''

She took was silent for a few moments, her eyes never looking away from the man. ''Stray devil Kurosaiga.''

While I and the other student council members were confused, Shinra-snepai went pale, her face moulding into one of pure fear, perhaps she recognized him. The man on the other hand just whistled. ''Oh my~ did someone just recognized me? Man being a celebrity sure is hard.''

I could see the uneasiness and anxiety in my master's body language, but she still tried to keep a straight face. ''State your actions.''

Kurosaiga simply waved his hands left and right, a bored expression was all that he displayed. ''No need to be all formal and shit with me. I was just passing by and felt this guy presence, next thing I know, I walk in on him doing his little torture fetish. So I did what any friendly neighborhood stray devil would do and killed the son of a bitch.''

''So am I wrong to assume that you wish us harm?'' Kaichou asked carefully, the tension around her seemed to have lighten slightly.

''Actually you aren't wrong. Now that you saw me I can't really let you leave, don't take it personally but I just got the underworld off my back and I would really hate if they managed to track me again.'' He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.

''I take it even if I did promise you to keep secret of this event you wouldn't let us go, am I right? She tried to reason with him, the earlier tension was now back even stronger. No doubt who ever this man is, he must be very dangerous to make her react like this.

''Unfortunately for you and your little friends over here, you are very correct. Besides I have a rule.'' The easy going air around him vanished completely, a feral grin stretched across his face, his eyes glowed maliciously. ''If I ever stumble across pure-blooded devil shits I will kill them.''

Kaichou let out a 'tsk' sound before turning to us. ''Everyone prepare to teleport now!''

''Kaichou?'' everyone, myself included were confused by her sudden reaction.

''He isn't someone we can fight. He is a former human who was considered a prodigy among reincarnated devils. He was the Queen of the heir of the Barbatos household and had a very prominent future ahead of him, but he went mad and slaughtered his master and his whole peerage. I saw rating games in which he participated, his strength is equal, perhaps even greater to that of a high-class devil.'' She bitterly admit as she glared back at the said man. ''He isn't someone we can fight at our current level.''

This made almost everyone present twitch in fear. Hanakai and Kusaka prepared their magic circles to teleport us away, only to see the circles shatter in the air. ''K-Kaichou we can't teleport!''

''What?!'' she almost snapped at them, no doubt the situation was beginning to mentally strain her.

''Well duh!'' Kurosaiga snorted. ''I didn't spend my time filling these tunnels with anti-teleportation runes as a hobby you know. Oh don't look at me like that, I just didn't want that stray bitch escaping.''

''Tsk. We don't have a choice.'' Kaichou straightened herself. ''Everyone regroup, same formation. We will fight him, but the moment we see an opportunity we are escaping this place.''

''What?! You can't be serious Kaichou?!'' Saji snapped in frustration, he was already getting emotionally unstable from what he saw up until, the appearance of Kurosaiga didn't seem to make things better. ''There's no way we can't beat this blond haired punk if we all fight him!''

That idiot! This isn't the time to let your pride get to you. Even if we have a numerical advantage against him, we have no idea what he is capable of.

''Guess I know who will die first.'' Kurosaiga commented with a bloodthirsty grin of his face as he appeared right in front of Saji.

''When did you-'' Saji muttered in shock as Kurosaiga drew his katana.

''Saji!''

The katana was brought down. The sound of flesh getting slashed and bones getting cut echoed in the room. ''Now isn't this interesting.'' Kurosaiga whistled entertained.

''W-Why?'' Saji mutter incoherently as he looked at what was in front of him. ''W-Why did you d-do that?!''

I opened my mouth to talk, a loud gasp escaped from it. ''M-My b-body... m-moved on its own before I c-could think...'' I muttered as my blood was gushing out of my body. I managed to step in between them at the last moment, but I didn't have enough time to Include.

The slash began from my hip and ended to my throat. The artery in it was severed... blood was erupting violently from my throat.

The world around me seemed to spin... I fell down to the ground. I could hear a single thing as my body crashed.

''SHIROU!''

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

Taiga was reading chapter four on her laptop. She slowly closes it and calmly throws it out a window. ''The hell was that?!'' the tiger lady roared. ''WTF Ray! You've took so damn to release the chapter and now you make a damn cliffhanger!?''

''Is it that bad that Ray-san made a cliffhanger?!'' Miyu asked confused.

''Of course it is! It's like you know that you have chocolate cake for desert, but you have to eat your mothers nasty main course before you can try it.'' Taiga roared, her battle aura all to present.

''I don't really get her.'' Miyu commented.

''Me neither.'' Illya nodded.

''Say Illya, perhaps i am imagining things, but didn't Ray-san use the 'Shirou recklessly jumps and protects someone with his body' idea in chapter one?'' Miyu asked curiously as she shuffled through chapter one.

Taiga exited the dojo through the front door..

''He did actually, and while he risks a lot by overusing certain pasterns, this is Onii-chan we are talking about. In the Saber Route he was brave(stupid) enough to jump in and protect Saber from Berserkers giant stone sword which almost split him in half, so he can take a small katana anytime.'' Illya shrugged.

Taiga returned in the dojo, carrying her broken laptop under her arm like a purse.

''That's very accurate now that i think about it.'' Miyu commented.

Taiga began beating her laptop with her Tora-shinai.

''How long do you think it will take before she calms down?'' Miyu asked.

''Probably until chapter five comes out. Yep were screwed.'' Illya pouted as a dark cloud formed over her head.

Miyu tilted her head confused. ''Won't it take longer for chapter five to be written? Isn't Ray-san starting his exam session?''

''That's why I said were screwed...'' Illya shrugged her shoulders.

''Stay tuned for the next chapter 'Stray hunt part II'.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Ok guys that's a wrap... or not.**

 **Took a little more to finish this chapter than I thought. Holidays combined with school assignments sure did a number on me and left me with little free time... and the exam session is starting in a few days so I doubt I will be able to write anything anytime soon... man this will be a really long a shitty month for me... all college/university students who feel like ripping off their hair during exam period say 'Aye'.**

 **I wonder if the fact that I pulled the whole 'unexpected villain' out of my ass, is a bad thing.**

 **Anyway you are probably wondering about the whole Include switch stuff. I always wondered what would happen if a heroic spirit had multiple Noble phantasms, if that were the case if that hero was included which one would he gain. I mean think about Diarmund, he has the dual spears NP, but their each individual NP, and so if someone used his card which one of the spears would he get. So I decided to come on with the concept that if one has multiple NP, he can switch between them. But Archer doesn't technically have a NP of his own so...**

 **Now the focus point of the chapter is Shirou famous 'Distortion'. It may be to early to show it, but i think its best for Sona and the others to learn from early just who they are dealing with. Plus it gives them more time to try and help Shirou cure it... well good luck with that... they would have more chances making Zelretch stop trolling people.**

 **About the whole trying to figure out their powers and checking their elemental affinities shit, well i tried to show a parallel between Rias and Sona. I mean i think that what i did this chapter is something logical. Hear me out on this thing.**

 **Imagine if hypothetically Issei didn't have Boosted Gear in the canon, but some other dangerous SG. Now imagine what could have happened in Issei had lets say Zennith Tempest instead. HE COULD HAVE CREATED A FREAKING TORNADO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY AND TURN IT TO SHREDS WITH ALL ITS INHABITANTS IF HE ACTIVATED IT BY MISTAKE AND DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO CONTROL IT. (on a side note, all my respects to Dulio Gesualdo for not committing mass homicide by accident)**

 **That's just a simple point there. While i don't like bashing people, lets be honest Rias is a big idiot sometimes, i mean seriously if you know that your pawn could have a dangerous SG the least you can do is try to figure out what it does or at least what it is. AND even if it turns out to be a shit like a Twice critical, you could at least try to teach him how to use it.**

 **Anyway... Sona is much more logical than Rias. Perhaps it is because she had to work her way up with normal people and learn the importance of working together with her servants in order for them to grow. Now that i think about Sona actually represent very well the saying 'make up for talent with hard work' (pretty much like Shirou huh)**

 **Now about Archer... if you were expecting something like what i did in 'Guardian of DxD'... well sorry to disappoint you, Archers gonna be our favorite mental snarker and jerk to Shirou for a while... i mean seriously, those two can't stand being near two meters of each, so imagine the horror of sticking them together like this... he may have seemed a little to open in helping Shirou, but don't jump to conclusions. His memories are indeed a bit foggy so he wouldn't be so friendly to Shirou. Also lets all be honest, i think we can all agree that it's better to have Archer like this, rather than not have him at all.**

 **Beta: Shadow of Life**

* * *

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

 **To all the people who review about Gae Bolg's powers, you have my thanks. Really helped me figure some things out.**

 **L33t Horo: Well it's not so shocking to think that. Sella may appear older than Shirou, but her age is actually around twelve years old.**

 **DeathTheManiac: I guess that in a sense Shirou was never truly a strong individual, but through trial and experience he developed himself. This version of him needs a little time to reach that level.**

 **Minazaki: He's Archer. If sarcasm was registered as a skill, he would probably have an A rank one.**

 **Shadow of a Memory: Yeah, I wouldn't worry about the opening thing. It was a onetime thing. Don't worry, Rias will be a little annoyed when she sees what she missed out on. I won't go into details or spoilers, but some of the plot points from the canon Kaleid story will be included, but they will greatly differ, just as much as this version of Shirou differs from the canon Kaleid Shirou. About Shirou capabilities... it's a bit of a complicated thing, he will always have the chance to reach his peak, but it depends on certain choices he makes.**

 **Silver soldier: While I don't have any planned moment, I will make one later to make you happy**

 **Azelios: I'm not exactly nerfing Shirou. I'm just taking things slowly, one step at a time. I mean we would all like to see Shirou mop the floor with most DxD villains, but if he is strong from the start there won't be so much space for growth.**

 **: I had a moment of weakness... it won't happen again... I think... Anyway I'm trying to see things from a more nasu verse like perspective. DxD can be serious too, but in terms of quality is a little lacking, so I'm trying to make up for that lack.**

 **: Actually it depends from what perspective you see it. This version of Shirou is nothing but a clueless person to the whole supernatural and all, so he is basically just an above average human. You can't really say he was nerfed since he didn't have any pre-existing powers in the first place. Even if he isn't at the same level as canon Shirou (UBW or Miyu's brother), all he needs is couple of good old fights and the GAR will awaken. About the OP thing... no excuses... I had a small case of chuunibyou when I wrote that thing. Also if I were to let it get to me every time I had bad review on a story I probably have given up writing a long time ago.**

 **dragonfighter11: Actually I am still debating about the parings. I am trying to avoid the whole mc meets certain girl and she falls for him in less than two chapters. So I think of building a base for relationships with certain girls, and see where it goes. But to make things more interesting, I will try to give attention to girls that don't really get so much screen time in the canon. About strength... let's just say he will become pretty strong... not too OP, but enough to make Sona proud.**

 **the unsung antihero: Somehow your words touched me... don't know why...**

 **InfinityMask: When the gathering happened and Sona had her fight with Rias she had an unused Rook, Knight and 3 unused Pawns. Even now in the canon she has 3 unused pawns. I simply used those 3 pawns on Shirou. About the age thing... hehehe you will see.**

 **Agent Frank Underwood: For now it's just Shirou's POV. But there will be moments when it will have to change.**

 **P.S. I wrote a FSN/Fairy Tail one shot, feel free to check it out and give it a thought.**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	5. Stray Hunt II: Limits

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _Memories are said to be one of the things that define a person..._

 _They play a big part in the persona of an individual..._

 _But what about memories that you weren't sure they were yours in the first place..._

 _Could you just write them off as something simple?_

 _Or would they change who you are?_

 _I didn't know what to think at first..._

 _And it later hit me..._

* * *

 **Chapter 5:**

 **Stray hunt II: Limits**

* * *

How odd... The last thing I recall before everything went dark was jumping in front of Saji and protecting him from that stray devil. I clearly remember that I was in that old underground tunnel where we found him, but the place I found myself afterwards was _very_ different.

There was only one word that came to my mind when describing this place.

 _Hell._

A sea of flames swirling everywhere, dancing violently as if trying to keep any poor souls from escaping its burning clutches.

A thick layer of smoke covering the area, so heavy and hot that it threatened to suffocate one by simply staying near it.

The road, and the buildings remains were searing hot, steam rising from them, almost burning ones skin by simply being too close to them.

 _I saw hell._

At every corner there were charred bodies. Corpses blacker than a moonless night, horribly mutilated by the flames, many of them crumbling in pieces, others missing different body parts, like legs or arms.

 _I saw hell._

The corpses that weren't burned to a crisp were perhaps harder to look at. Faces mutilated by flames beyond recognition, very few of them retaining any skin on their faces, the bleeding hot human flesh and white bones usually hidden under it exposed for to the world to see it.

 _I saw hell._

The stench of burned flesh spreading in the air, the insides of my stomach feeling like they were about to rush outside the moment I breathed in this death tainted scent.

The screams of people trapped under the debris, the ones of the people caught in the flames, all of them desperately praying and begging for help, for salvation. All of it was in vain... none arrived.

What I was witnessing was something that shouldn't exist... it was something too cruel to be real... A horrible image ripped out of straight from a deranged nightmare.

Somewhere along the way, rain started pouring as if it tried to saves some of the poor souls by putting out the flames. It wasn't enough to completely extinguish the flames, it only made things look grimmer. Blood, ashes, dirt and water mixing together, flowing and forming messy puddles, filling whatever cracks they could find.

Most people would have found this scenery a core shaking nightmare, but what truly got my attention was a person sitting in the middle of it all.

A single boy. He appeared to be no older than seven or eight years old. His ash covered body lying lifelessly on the smoldering ground, pieces of debris half covering him, his empty eyes staring at the smoke filled night sky, his small and weak hand reaching up to it.

The moment I saw his eyes I experienced the most contradicting image I've ever seen in my life. His eyes looked void, empty and yet there was still life in them. His body should have been dead, I could see that there was no more life in him, but he was still alive. This person should be by all means dead, but there is still life in him.

Perhaps I'm looking at it the wrong way. The flesh and blood body is still alive, but the inside of it broke down, still in one piece, however the mechanism that once made it work has snapped and stopped functioning.

The _person_ inside the body is dead... like he just gave up trying to live anymore. As if the soul inside of it died before the heart gave its last beat.

The more I looked into his lifeless amber eyes, the more I felt a sense of familiarity from him. I felt my insides grew cold as I stared into the child eyes peeking through his auburn bangs... felling like I was staring into an old broken mirror.

 _The child... was me._

* * *

A burning sensation circulated through my body. A quick spasm made my body shake and tremble uncontrollably. My eyes cringed in pain as I tried opening them. What I was greeted with when I did open them was the worried expression of my junior and fellow pawn Nimura. Why was she holding me in her arms for?

My chest throbbed violently.

I cringed as I remembered what happened to me, the feeling of the cold steel slashing through my flesh. I tried picking myself up, only to shiver from the pain that throbbed in my chest.

''Take it easy Emiya-senpai. The wound you received was very deep and it just got healed.'' The twin tailed pawn explained as she helped me pick myself up. I started to feel bad for her since my body is much larger than hers, I could only hope she didn't had a difficult time carrying me around. While I'm not exactly a heavy person, I doubt that a girl with her frame and stature can easily carry a guy my size.

This made me wonder what happened after I blacked out. I rubbed my forehead of the slight headache I was feeling. ''How long was I out?''

''Two or three minutes at most. You suddenly passed out when he cut you, perhaps from the sudden shock, but you're fine now.'' She explained to me in a sad tone, her eyes filled with concern.

I tapped the area where I was slashed, there was no longer any wound there, just a deep accentuated scar. This made me recall one my little study sessions with my master.

''Why is the wound healed? Don't devil healing techniques take time to treat deep wounds?'' It didn't made sense, there's no way I could have been healed so fast, and I don't recall having anyone with potent healing abilities in our peerage.

''You know about Phoenix tears right?'' She raised her hand and showed me a small red vial. ''Well Kaichou prefers being prepared for unexpected events like this and she always carries one with her just in case someone gets lethally injured during the hunts.''

Oh that made sense. From what I understood Phoenix tears are a very potent healing item, one being strong enough to close even a hole in ones chest in a matter of seconds. But as strong as they are, they also happen to be very expensive... and I mean very, very expensive!

''Guess that explains it.'' I narrowed my eyes to my surroundings, we were no longer in the room where Kurosaiga appeared, and instead we were into one of the tunnels we explored earlier.

''What's going on? Why are we here?'' I asked my fellow pawn. ''What happened after I passed out?''

Nimura took a second and cleared her throat, not appearing to enjoy what she was about to say. ''After you passed out Kaichou couldn't afford keeping you around in that state, it was just too risky. Protecting you would have been too difficult since everyone was required to fight the stray. She passed me the Phoenix Tear and ordered me to take you to safety. It was her only choice at the moment.''

It made sense actually. From her reaction when she first saw Kurosaiga, I could tell that she was scared, her ordering us to teleport only further proven my theory.

My stare landed on Nimura's shoulder and how it looked unusually down compared to her opposite one. I bit my lip as I realized that her shoulder wasn't like that because she was holding it that way, but because it was dislocated.

Kurosaiga must have attacked her when she tried to take me to safety.

Damn... If only we could have teleported away, this whole situation wouldn't have happened.

The fact that I couldn't react properly really must have screwed up any back-up plan Kaichou had. By passing out I made myself a 'Come and get me' target to the enemy. Even if someone was selected to protect me, it wouldn't have been a good choice.

The only logical solution would have been to take me away from the danger zone. I can only speculate that the reason why Nimura was the one she picked, was because she was the most expandable at the moment.

From I understood she is currently the least experienced of the group after me and Saji, but she still has more experience than both of us, so it could make a little sense that she was sent instead of Saji. Then again... Saji will probably only get in the way with his current skills, so why didn't she sent him instead or sent him together with us?

 _... Oh shit._

''Nimura we need to get back right now!'' I ran back to the room as fast I could, trailing my way back with the help of the small drips of blood on the stone floor left by my wound.

''Emiya-senpai wait!'' she called out to me, but I chose to ignore her and go on. If my hunch was right Saji probably started fighting that guy out of rage. While he never had any outbreak, Saji did seem to have short temper and only needed one strong push to make him flip, and if he did that against Kurosaiga, chances are that I won't find him in one piece.

When I saw the metallic door from earlier I steeled myself for the potential fight that may occur behind it. I kicked it open and scanned the room, only to realize that it was empty. There were some differences from before.

Many of the walls were cracked, indication that something crashed in them really hard. There were several deep slash marks in the walls, judging by their form they seem to be made by a sword, but the sheer size of each one of them didn't match the sword that Kurosaiga was carrying.

On the floor were several craters, many of which were letting out smoke and heat, a sign that they were recently made, probably by and explosion or a fire related attack.

Sections of the walls and ceiling have crumbled and turned into debris, forming small piles. The only good part is that the debris now covered the bodies of the victims. Even though their presence didn't disturbed me, that doesn't mean that I enjoyed looking at them.

A sudden explosion got my attention. It came for the other side of the room, from the same direction Kurosaiga arrived from earlier. I dashed quickly towards the source, finding another metal door, once again force opening it.

I scanned the area and took a moment to understand where I was. The new room was several times bigger than the previous one, reminiscent to an arena of sorts, as there was a ring like floor several meters down.

I approached the railing to get a better look. When I touched it someone grabbed my wrist, my head instantly turned around, preparing myself to punch the intruder.

A lump of air got stuck in my throat when I saw who it was. Lying down on his bottom, his clothes looked like they went through a shredder, the left hand was hanging lifelessly on his side, bended and obviously broken in many places, the black gauntlet on it appeared to have shatter, and almost all visible body parts were covered in deep dark bruises.

''Emiya-senpai you can't just-'' Nimura froze as she caught up to me and saw who was holding my wrist, her face went pale, eyes widening in shock. ''S-Saji-senpai?''

''W-Why the hell did you come back?!'' Saji asked me with a strained and tired voice, his bruise covered arm trembling as it held my wrist. ''N-Nimura you were supposed to get him out of here!''

The small pawn shuddered in shame in front of her school senior. No doubt she wasn't prepared to see such an angry expression from him. It also didn't help that the bruises on his face made him look far more menacing.

''Get the hell out of here!'' he snapped at us, his voice filled indignation and anger, but this was different from the one he used to show during our small quarrels. This time this was serious anger.

I opened my mouth to comment at him, but stopped when an explosion got my attention. I shook him off and turned back to the railing to look over it. My master and the others were fighting Kurosaiga in the middle of the room.

From the side lines Kaichou, Kusaka and Hanakai were bombarding him with their respective forms of magic. My master was unleashing on him torrents of ragging water, so violent that it made stormy sea look like a bathtub. The two bishops on the other hand were blasting him large fireballs that put any modern flamethrower to shame.

The blond stray didn't seem to panic or react at all, the opposite in fact. His eyes were half closed, an expression of boredom was etched on his face as the onslaught of fire and water were approaching him at alarming rate.

He made no gesture to dodge them, and instead put his katana forward towards the incoming attacks. An eerie teal light enveloped the blade of the black katana as the man swinged it upwards as the demonic attacks were about to hit him.

One second the attacks were about to hit him, the next they split and passed by his left and right side, not even a drop of water or a spark of fire touching him. A loud explosion was heard as the attacks crashed into the walls behind him.

The most those attacks did was make his hair dance violently from the backlash of the explosion. His expression was unchanged, the silent boredom was still present as he narrowed his eyes on his opponents.

''Haven't you learned already?'' Kurosaiga asked his attackers with a half tired voice, his eyes still showing nothing but boredom, but he never let them out his sight. ''Your attacks are useless against me, you are just wasting time and stamina fighting like that.''

A smile that made me shiver formed on his face. A smooth change in his battle stance, a small feral gleam present in his eyes, the blade of his katana begging to glow once more. ''This is how you attack!''

Three swings were done. Three streams of teal energy erupted from his weapon and surged towards the range fighters. They all raised their hands and three magical seals appeared, forming barriers in from them, intercepting the incoming attacks.

The opposing forces clashed. The three women shrieking as the strength of the blasts were slowly pushing them backwards. Cracks began forming in the seals of their barriers, starting from the centers and slowly spreading all over.

Like a rock crashing through a window, the barriers shattered. The first one to fall was the one that belonged to Kusaka, the blast hitting her straight on, sending her crash into a wall, a big section of it cracking upon her strong impact, a mouthful of blood escaped through her lips as the pieces of wall flew around her.

Next was Hanakai, when her barrier shattered the attack hit the right side of her body, shredding a rather large section of her clothes. The attack sent her spinning in the air, landing close to Kusaka, but unlike her she hit her left temple against the wall, her eyes rolling upwards as she lost consciousness.

My master somehow managed to keep her stand until the very last second. Her barrier shattered when the attack has lost its power. She was still on her legs, her hands still extended forward and shaking violently, steam rising from them, her breathing heavy and uneven.

Her legs gave in, she fell on her knees, using her hands to sustain herself and not fall flat. Dozens of sweat bullets were present on her face, her heavy breathing and shaking body was increasing, but her eyes locked on her enemy.

''Is that all little miss Pure-Blood?'' an arrogant smirk was present on the stray's face as he glared at his target.

No comments were heard from her, a dreadful silence was filling the room. Or that was until a pitched battle cry was heard from behind the blond stray. He casually raised his sword behind his neck, sparks flying around him as his dark blade met another one.

''You know, that might have worked if you didn't scream like an idiot and literally give away your position.'' He commented as the edges of his eyes drifted to the woman behind him. Shinra-senpai was trying hard to push her naginata forward and stab the stray but his stance was unfazed, an irritated scowl was present as she saw that her attack was useless.

''Then how about this?!'' completely ignoring the previous advice of the enemy, a new person shouted as she quickly approached the left side of the stray. A small glimpse of light flashed as Meguri drew her katana from her scabbard and aimed for Kurosaiga. Once again he didn't seem to acknowledge the approaching attack as a danger and stared at it uninterested as it was quickly making its way to his unguarded left side.

The blade was closing in quickly, it looked it was Meguri's win, he couldn't use his sword to block as it was still busy blocking our Queen's naginata.

A dull sound filled the room as Meguri's katana made contact with Kurosaiga's body... but no blood was drawn, no flesh was sliced, not even his clothes got cut.

We all stared in disbelief as he caught the sharp katana in between his knee and elbow, completely locking Meguri in place like a vise. An arrogant smirk formed on his face as he glared at the twin tailed redhead. ''I'd say that's a nine out of ten for effort, but power and technique wise it would be around a five.''

The man had all the reason to show a little arrogance. Blocking the strike of a naginata with a single arm strength isn't something anyone can do as the said weapon has the advantage of using the strength of two arms. Catching a blade isn't an easy task as well, while I heard of sword catching techniques, they usually require the use of two hands.

Here he caught it with his knee and elbow, as if for a second he replaced them with two industrial compressors, shooting them instantly and catching the blade between them and locking it in place.

My eyes got locked on his unmoved form. He was standing still holding both girls at bay without displaying any effort in the process. His arrogant smile suddenly vanished, his eyes drifted upwards as a shadow began covering his still locked in place form.

A few meters in the air, Yura was descending right towards his open back. An angry frown was present on her boyish face, her hands were gripping on a large industrial metal pipe, the kind that are used in plumbing systems. Perhaps she found it around here.

This was it, both his left and right arms were busy holding off Meguri and Shinra-senpai. If he were to try using either of them to block Yura that will leave him open for our Queen or Knight to give him a lethal blow.

Perhaps this was their strategy all along, fighting him separately would have been pointless, so they intended to group up on him and leaving him without anything to block with.

They could do it... or at least that was my thought until I saw the flash of teal light glowing from the midnight blade. A cold chill ran down my spine as the glow intensified, completely covering the katana.

A feral smile formed on the stray's face as the surge of light seemed to explode around him like a geyser, just as Yura was about to strike the nape of his neck with the metal pipe.

Three high-pitched screams echoed through the dark room as the light somehow repelled them and sent crashing in opposite directions.

The stray snickered as he the end result of his technique, he didn't waste any time and dashed towards his stunned opponents.

The first was Meguri, the moment she comprehended what just happened was the same moment that the stray was next to her, she tried using her katana to protect herself but Kurosaiga took that luxury from her. With a single swing of his blade he shattered her katana, the very next moment the stray proceeded and elbowed her right shoulder.

The first thing that was heard was the sounds of something cracking, the next was the pain filled scream of our Knight. Her arm hanging lifelessly from her broken shoulder. But the noise only lasted for a few moments as Kurosaiga then grabbed her by the head and threw her towards a nearby wall. Silencing her.

His eyes next landed on Yura, who was trying to get up on her feet. Just like Meguri she took notice of the stray far too late, but unlike in her case, he didn't go for the shoulder, he went for her knees, smashing the hilt of his katana in her left knee.

Like a broken record the same track was played. A cracking sound, followed by pain filled screams, ending with her getting sent crashing into a nearby wall.

His eyes landed now on his last moving target. Shinra-senpai managed to collect herself, assuming her battle stance once more, but she displayed an unusual shivering. That however didn't stop her from raising her naginata and charging towards Kurosaiga, her face collected as always, yet a burning rage could be seen in her eyes. No doubt that what Kurosaiga did to her comrades rustled her feathers.

The two Queens weapons collided, sparks flying on contact, their faces mere inches away from the other. One trying to maintain her calm and not give into rage, the other grinning like a child who found a new toy.

The stance broke, Shinra-senpai began thrusting her naginata forward at alarming speed, aiming for straight for the vitals. Blood never flew in the air, just the sparks of Kurosaiga blocking each strike with ease.

I could tell just by looking... he wasn't serious at all.

While it was obvious from the amount of effort both parties displayed during their fight, Shinra-senpai struggling and Kurosaiga appearing rather impassive, what truly gave it away was the way he held his katana. The type he was using is best used with both hands... and all this time he used just one hand.

A sound similar to glass shattering pierced my ears, the blade of the naginata was shattered, the pieces spinning in the air around Shinra-senpai's stunned expression. Kurosaiga caught one of the shattered pieces in his mouth, shifting to his right and dashed upwards, his open hand finding its way in our Queen's throat, slamming her hard against a nearby wall, her eyes rolled up in the back of her head from the pain.

He let go of her throat, quickly grabbing both her wrists and pushed them to the wall right above her head. He took the piece of blade that he was keeping in his mouth and stabbed it through the Queens palms, pinning her to the wall.

''Man...'' he finally spoke, ignoring the painful gasps and struggling of Shinra-senpai. ''Queens these days are so damn stupid. They are given all the traits of a Knight, Rook and Bishop and yet they always focus on only one trait and ignore the rest. Such a waste.''

''Leave her alone you monster!'' my masters scream got the stray's attention. All this time he ignored her and focused on the others, since it seemed like she wasn't worth worrying about. When he turned around his eyes widen in shock as he was greeted by a giant serpent made entirely out of water that hit him straight on, swallowing him in its mouth.

Silence filled the room, the massive water beast standing tall and still for over a minute. I looked at my master as she let out a sigh of relief, her body becoming more relaxed, eyes closing behind her glasses. I myself let out a relax sigh, it was difficult, but she did it, she managed to surprise and defeat him.

My nose twitched violently, my eyes instantly drifting back to the serpent. It began shaking, a large bump formed in its stomach area, growing quickly each passing second. Small holes formed in the water, teal lights erupting from them.

Like a plastic balloon that was filled with far too much air, the serpent exploded, water scattering everywhere. As the violent sudden rain subdued, a lone figure was sitting where the serpent was, covered from head to toe in water, his hair was now down and messy, an annoyed expression present on his face.

''Trying to drown me, really?'' Kurosaiga sighed with a scowl, running his open hand through his hair, his eyes cringing as he kept trying to arrange his hair. ''Oh damn. Do you know how long it takes to style my hair?''

Completely ignoring his rather unserious comments, my master took a step backwards. Taking her battle stance one more, but she was only lying to herself.

She couldn't win, and she knew it far too well. She knows it and it scares her, barely standing on her shaking legs, biting her lower lip in frustration.

Magic seals appeared on her hands once again, water in the form of various animals began manifesting around her, no doubt preparing to attack Kurosaiga again. The said man however didn't give her any chance to command the water animals to attack him.

He let go of his katana and let it fall. As the distance between it and the ground was shortening, he pulled his right leg back. In a flash he kicked the sword in buttcap in its handle, shooting the katana like a bullet towards my master.

A breathless gasp escaped from my King mouth as the katana stabbed her in the stomach. The brute force of the impact caused her to crash in the wall. The only reason why the sword didn't pass through her body was because the guard was blocked in the flesh.

Her legs lost all strength and fell on her knees, her cheeks swelling suddenly. A painful cough together with a large amount of blood escaped her mouth. Her breath turning hectic, hands trembling as she tried to grab the handle of the sword. A screech was heard, the moment she touched it, no doubt moving the sword in the wound only made the pain even more unbearable than it already was. The attack and the pain caused by it broke her concentration, her water animals losing their form and breaking into puddles of water.

A sadistic laugh made got her attention. The enemy was now in front of her, grabbing both her wrist and tightening his grip around them. The sound of her bones snapping was heard before her screams of excruciating pain. A feral and creepy smile was all present on Kurosaiga's face. The indifference he showed when he decimated the others was gone, all that is left is the disturbed smile. ''Why don't you just sit there like a proper little princess until I fix my hair?''

 _I hit my limit._

''This ends now.'' My voice may have appeared calm to others, but it was only masking a deep rage as I clenched my teeth hard. I tried to walk, but someone was still holding on my wrist. My eyes drifted at the still injured pawn. ''Saji... they won't beat him.''

''I k-know dammit, I'm not that stupid.'' His face was cringed, tears in the corners of his eyes, no doubt he was in great pain from the injuries he sustained and moving around like this only put more salt on the wound. ''But at least some of us were supposed to escape... I don't know... call for help or something, but not rush back here like an idiot!''

So that's why he was so adamant of me leaving. Truth to be told it was actually a good idea, but unfortunately I couldn't go back now. There was only one thing I could do. ''I have to fight him.''

''K-Kaichou is high-class pure-blood devil, and Shinra-senpai is a Queen piece. Even with their help they couldn't injure him.'' He snapped at me, his voice in between anger and pain if not both of them. ''You on the other hand are a freshly reincarnated pawn with a pair of swords. You will get killed...''

''Better me than someone else.'' I admitted dryly. As much as I wanted to contradict him, I didn't do it since he was right. ''I will fight... if it seems that I can't win no matter what I do, take everyone else and get out of here. '' I understood as I saw Kurosaiga fight. His strength, speed, and technique outclasses mine by many levels, and he hasn't even displayed any seriousness. I'm not sure if I can win... but if I can at least make sure that the others are safe... that's enough for me.

''Nimura,'' I got my juniors attention as she was still busy trying to help Saji. Her eyes were filled with nothing but dread and confusion from what she saw that happened to our master and our other comrades. ''Take the first chance you see and take the injured to safety.'' She stared at me for a few moments and nodded reluctantly, I then changed my attention to the blond pawn, my fist was tightened. ''Saji... you may not have a good impression about me, but believe in me. I won't just sit and let someone die."

I gave them one last look before I climbed on the railing, both of them were looking at me with stares that were screaming 'You are insane!', 'Stop it!', but they understood that there wasn't any other choice. I took a glance down... it sure was a high place.

I took a deep breath as I leaned my foot against the wall under the railing on the other side.

I jumped.

I didn't know who designed this place but I was grateful for the architect who was in charge since he made the walls slightly curved and not perfect straight walls. Because of that I could slide my way down on the wall and not fall like an idiot.

I was a few meters above my master and the stray. I focused all my strength in my legs, pushing as hard as I could against the wall and launch myself towards my target.

As Kurosaiga was arranging his hair he took notice of me, his face filled with surprise. He was open, he was missing his sword. I had to take this chance no matter what.

Recalling every step, remembering the process, the sensation, I reached deep down to the power inside me. The image of card depicting an archer aiming towards the sky flashed through my mind.

'' **Include!** '' I shouted as I extended my hands, the twin blades appearing in them, aiming the tips towards the stray devils open vitals.

While he appeared stunned for a brief moment, his eyes flashes and his laidback demeanor vanished. He pointed his hand towards my master, the teal light enveloping his hand and the katana still stabbed in my master.

The katana flashed in a powerful light, far too powerful for my eyes to resist.

I blinked.

The next thing I heard was the sound of metal hitting other metal.

I opened my eyes and immediately cursed myself for blinking. Kurosaiga's smug smile in full view as our swords were clashing against each other.

''Oh~!'' He whistled excited as his eyes met mine. ''Look whose back in the game. Though attacking like that was a bit reckless.''

''Well I wasn't the one who was busy with his hair.'' I commented somewhat taken by his words, he was taking the whole situation way too casual in my opinion and it was somehow starting to rub onto me.

''While vanity is pretty common among devils, I didn't do it just so I could look good. If I let my hair hang like that it would have only gotten in my way, reducing the area of my eyesight.'' He calmly explained with a shrug as his eyes trailed on my weapons. ''Nice swords by the way. I never fought against falchions now that I think about it.''

The grip on his katana tightened. He broke our stance, sending me a few steps back. ''You know I was pretty sure you were out for the count.'' A small chuckled escaped his lips. ''How's the chest feeling?''

I narrowed my eyes, my swords ready for any sudden movement. ''A lot better that's for sure. A bit itching where you cut if I had to complain.''

''Honestly I would apologize, but you were the one that jumped in front of my swing.'' The amused chuckle he was displaying was making me feel like we were two buddies talking about something trivial, not about life and death matters.

My teeth clenched hard, a snort existed my mouth as I wasn't enjoying how he was taking the situation. ''Swing which was aimed at my comrade might I add.''

He looked at me for a few seconds and raised his hands in a defensive manner. ''I don't know if it will change anything at this point, but the swing was only meant to lightly cut him, not lethally injure him. The fact that you stood in front of him put you in the danger zone, if you sat in your place you wouldn't have been cut like that.''

I was surprised my jaw didn't drop. I wanted to retort and call it bullshit, but after thinking about it for a second it made perfect sense. The cut was indeed deep, but it should've been much deeper if not straight out cut me in half if the stray really wanted to slash Saji up. The reach of his sword would've been enough just cut him a little, but not lethally injure him, and the fact that I stepped in front of Saji and much closer into his swords reach made me receive a very nasty wound.

Wait... something's not right here.

If that was truly what happened back then, this only risen one critical question. ''Why would you do that?''

Was there any reason for him to do that? Showing off the difference in strength? Trying to instill fear into us? If he was going to kill us in the first place, was there really any reason to do that?

He stared silently for a few moments, a narrowed into a frown present on his face. ''Who knows?'' he closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. ''You should worry about other things!''

His raised his katana and took his battle stance, eyes sharp like those of a predator. I followed suit and took my own stance, gaining a raised eyebrow from Kurosaiga in response. ''Guess you're a bit of an amateur. That stance you got there really sucks. ''

I somehow couldn't take any of his remarks and let out a loud snort at his comment. ''If you don't like it then go somewhere else to find a proper swordsman.''

My eyes drifted to my left side for a second. Good, Nimura managed to take Kaichou and the others to safety while I kept talking to this guy, now I can concentrate on my fight without worrying about them.

''Maybe some other time.'' He chuckled dryly as he raised his katana to his shoulder level. ''Now I want to see what you're made of.''

The floor under his feet crumbled as he dashed towards me, his black katana aimed for chest. He was about to stab me.

Or so it seemed to him.

Mere inches away from my skin, I blocked his blade Bakuya and brought Kanshou down. His eyes widen, an expression of surprise took over his face. He tried to avoid the blade, but he wasn't entirely successful as the tip cut his cheek.

He jumped a few sets backwards, placing his free hand where he was cut. His surprised expression further seem to increase as he stared at the blood on his fingers.

A pained frown took over him, his eyes cringing, teeth clutched strongly. ''Holy element... no... the pain's similar, but it's clearly different.'' He was silent, as if he was analyzing what just happened, a euphoric smile suddenly crept over his face. ''Now this is interesting. I don't know what those swords are made off but their no toys that's for sure. There's no way normal weapons can bypass my Rook trait like that. Guess you will be more entertaining than the others.''

He whipped the trail of blood with his thumb, shifting his weight on his right leg. His unused hand finding its way on the hilt of the katana. ''The proper thing to do is show some seriousness as well.''

He dashed and aimed his blade for my chest, I put my swords to block it, only to find it impossible to do it. The strike sent me crashing towards the wall.

 _Dammit._

I should have ended it when he using only one arm, now things just got grimmer then they already were.

Using my right foot as a brake I managed to slow myself, stopping right before hitting the wall. I bent my neck quickly to the right, my eyes drifting at the blade that just stabbed itself right next to my neck. Kurosaiga face was in front of my eyes, his feral smile making me feel very uncomfortable.

I raised Kanshou and Bakuya in an 'X' motion towards his throat. He used the wall as support and pushed himself backwards with his leg, I did the same and went after him. Since his physical power was much greater than my own, blocking his strikes would prove difficult. I couldn't risk letting him play offensive so I had to take initiative, striking and dodging whatever he threw at me.

I aimed for different parts of his body, like the heart, throat, liver, and eyes, hoping that at least one of them would be hit. I failed, each time I striked he blocked me with ease.

When our swords clashed together once more, he delivered a swift kick me in my ribs. I cringed as I felt something crack in my body, my grip weakening, giving him the chance to break our stance, making me stumble on the ground for a few meters.

When the bumpy ride was over I waved my head and got rid of the dizziness, rolling myself on the ground to avoid a stab from Kurosaiga. I ran up against the wall and used it to launch myself towards him, he dodged Kanshou and blocked Bakuya with his sword.

The teal light starting to glow once again from his blade. The explosion of light made he stumble, a chilling sensation filled my body, like walking naked in a snow field on a freezing winter night.

Was this what made the others tremble earlier?

It was like the sensation was engraved in my body when the light hit me. I could tell that no change in temperature had took place, and yet the body was going through the same reactions of freezing.

Damn... my hands were shivering violently and I couldn't hold my blades properly. I had to do something before it becomes a hinder.

Kurosaiga didn't seem to let me figure it out as he dashed once again. He-

 _~Quietly, quietly, the curtain is cut down. A blue flame at the dawn of awakening. ~_

He and I froze in place as my cell phone began playing its ring tone. I actually forgot to turn off the damn thing when I got here!

Trying to ignore the song playing from my cell, I looked curiously at Kurosaiga who was just sitting in the same place, a confuse expression present on his face. ''Aren't you gonna pick that up?''

How I resisted the urge to not face palm myself was just beyond me. ''You serious? Were in the middle of a life and death battle, and you're gonna let me pick up my phone?''

He blinked a few times and shrugged his shoulders. ''It might be important you know, it's kind of late so I doubt someone would call you for some small talk. ''

On one hand he did make a solid point, it was fairly late in the night and I doubt someone would just call me at this hour just for some small talk. On the other hand however, it could all be a trap. ''How do I know you won't attack me?''

An annoyed snort escaped his lips. ''Hey I may be a little psychotic from time to time, but I can cut some slack to people when I feel like it.''

My still shivering hand reached for my pocket. While it may be a little risky, if I could buy a few seconds to get rid of the shivering sensation and come up with an away to counter him, then I have to take it. ''Hello?''

[''EMIYA!''] An all too familiar voice made my eardrum ring in pain.

''Mitsuzuri?!'' I asked her, my voice in between shock and concern to the way she was screaming. ''What happened, are you hurt?!''

[''What? No!''] The tone of her voice was making me feel like I just asked something stupid. [''But I will be dead Monday if you don't help me!'']

I really didn't understand what was going on, but I had to make her give me a proper explanation. ''Calm down and tell me what happened.''

[''That idiot brother of mine spilled a juice box on the table and grabbed the first piece of paper he could find to clean it, and that piece of paper happened to be my homework. Please I beg you, let me copy yours!'']

I don't know when exactly my shivering stopped, but it was surprisingly replaced by a very violent twitch in my left eye. I frowned as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. ''...You called me at this hour for this?''

[''But it's a emergency!'']

Perhaps due to my whole turned devil drama my perception of what really is an emergency and what is not has change, but I honestly can't help but feel a certain level of stupidity in this conversation. ''... Well I guess this is what happens when you let your homework hanging around. You know I really should just hang up on you.''

[''What?! Don't be like that! Please I really need your help!'']

While I couldn't see her, something told me that she was making a face similar to a sad puppy. I sighed in defeat. ''Fine, fine, no need to go all panic attack on me. I will give you my homework right before class, but be sure to not write word by word or the teacher will figure out you copied it.''

[''Really?! Thanks a lot Emiya, you're the best! I'll treat you to something good for this.'']

I let out a tired sigh. It felt somewhat reassuring that Mitsuzuri was still the same lively girl that I've known since middle school. ''It's ok, there's no need for you to thank me. Just go to sleep and rest for tomorrow.''

[''Will do. Goodnight. '']

''Bye.'' I sighed as I closed my phone. At least my shivering is gone. I looked at Kurosaiga, the later spinning his katana in his hand like a parade stick to pass the time. I felt really awkward about what just happened. ''Sorry about that.''

He stopped spinning his katana, an amused smirk trailing on his lips. ''Nah, I had my share fair of relationships, so I can somewhat relate.''

''Huh?'' I tilted my head confused at his statement. ''What do you mean by that?''

''Huh?'' He did a similar expression to my own, as if trying to emulate me. ''That was your girlfriend on the phone, right?''

I think my mind stopped working for a few seconds before it finally rebooted and acknowledged what he just said, raising and waving my hands. ''W-What?! No! Mitsuzuri and I are just old friends, we're not like that!''

Seriously me and Mitsuzuri? Who would believe something like that? I mean I don't dislike her, but I doubt she sees me more than a friend/rival in archery. Plus she's not what I would call a text book definition of girly. Though I have to admit that she did start developing more feminine traits since we started high school. She did also start to fill up in certain areas, especially her-

I slapped my face, getting rid of the unnecessary thoughts and setting my mind back on the life and death matters on the hand.

''You're reaction is telling me otherwise, but I'll leave it at that.'' He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. ''Battle time!''

He reassumed his battle position, his stance appearing more solid than before, his orange eyes turning slightly feral, the teal light enveloping his katana once more.

He was being serious. This time he wasn't going to hold back and will come at me with all he had.

I could feel it, a tingling sensation in my nose, telling me to run, telling me that I can't win against him at my current level.

But I couldn't do that. He may appear as an easy going individual, but there is also a certain level a sadism in him. I saw it when he crushed Kaichou's wrists, the gleam of excitement in his eyes, the snicker in on his face. He enjoyed doing it very much.

If I try to run away there's no telling what could happen. He could let me go and go after the others, but I can't let that happen.

 _I need more power._

I didn't had time to test it before, but it's the only thing that I could think.

She told me of the conditions, I require either her approval or to be in enemy territory. She wasn't precise if enemy territory referred to one's enemy territory in general or a territory that is a specified enemy zone towards devils, like a church, but I don't have time to waste.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, I recalled my little lesson regarding the Evil pieces powers.

'' **Promotion Queen**!'' I shouted with all might, my voice echoing through the room.

Kurosaiga took notice, and prepared himself. His eyes analysing my every move, his pose showing that he was ready to pounce at any moment.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked my hands. Gipping hard on the handles of my swords. I could feel it.

 _Nothing changed..._

I felt the same.

I didn't feel anything different.

It didn't work.

I didn't promote... but that doesn't make any sense. Kaichou told me that promotion is instant, as if just flipping a switch, nothing complicated and even the weakest pawn is able to do it. That was the whole beauty of promotion, giving even a pawn with zero physical or magical abilities the chance of powering up and overcoming obstacles that would have normally been impossible.

She told me that the only down side of promoting is the physical strain that will be put on the body, but that's it. There shouldn't be any reason why I couldn't promote.

Could it be that my body won't be able to take the strain and that's why the promotion isn't working?

Damn... I didn't have time to waste, if a Queen is out of the question, I had to choose something else.

'' **Promotion Knight!** ''

Nothing...

'' **Promotion Rook!** ''

Again... it failed.

'' **Promotion Bishop!** ''

My final shot... failure as the previous.

I ran out of choices... I couldn't promote in any of the other pieces. The frustration I was feeling made my teeth clench so hard that it felt like they would crack... and it seemed like I wasn't the only one who wasn't enjoying what happened.

''Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?'' his all too carefree smile was no more, just an annoyed frown. ''Because if it is, I'm sure as hell not laughing.''

He dashed on my right side, shifting his weight on his leg and aimed for my heart. I blocked him with my swords, only to find myself shooting suddenly in the air, then in a wall.

A pained filled gasp escaped my mouth on the impact, a cracking sound circulating in my body. I tried to ignore the pain and regroup, but Kurosaiga didn't give me the opportunity. He was once again near me and kicked me in the thigh, the feeling of the muscles being ripped made my whole body spasm.

He grabbed me by the head and bashed it against the wall. He pulled me then back and repeated the process... Several times.

I lost count after the fifth time, my perception of the world messed up as he pushed my skull in the old and fickle wall. Everything was spinning, left felt like right and up felt like down.

Not letting my senses return naturally he strengthened his grip around my head and with one swift motion he slammed my whole body on the floor. My grip on the swords loosened, dropping them on the moment of impact.

The impact, strong and painful as it was, caused my body to somehow bounce back up in the air like a ball, but I didn't get to spend too much time there as Kurosaiga jabbed his elbow in my gut, sending me crashing in the ground once more.

Even though my body felt like it was just hit by a run-away truck, I tried getting up, using my arms to push myself, stopping when I felt my cheeks swell suddenly. A mouthful of blood and bile rushed out through my lips.

I couldn't breathe properly, the sensation of chocking on my own blood, the taste of cooper and bile, combined with my dizziness from the previous hits was making everything in my mind spin. I felt a hand run through my hair, Kurosaiga pulled it and made me look him straight in his orange eyes.

''Look kid...'' the stare he was giving me was one devoid of compassion, but at the same time devoid of ill intention, it was just simply pity. ''You tried your best, but this is as far as you go. You have potential as a fighter, I will give you that, but you are still too green to beat me.''

''Just close your eyes and go to sleep. It will ease the pain.'' He let go of my head and turned around. I didn't realized it until he let got, but his hand was what kept my body from crashing back on the ground.

Damn... my body felt so heavy, everything was spinning, my ears were ringing. Somehow his suggestion sounded good at the time, I felt so tired. Even though I didn't want to, my eyes were slowly closing, I was struggling to keep myself from passing out.

Through this state of hanging on the thread of my consciousness, I stare at Kurosaiga as he tried to walk away, hearing the tapping of his shoes. He stopped midway and looked at me with a tired expression. ''Just like that, let it go. When you wake up you will be a free man.'' He turned and resumed walking. ''And your little master will be gone.''

...

Something in me felt like it snapped, my eyes wide open, my teeth grinding against each other. I didn't have the luxury of passing out, if I did that people will die.

 _I can't allow that!_

Searching for the strength to move, I pushed myself up with all power I could muster. I somewhat managed to lift myself and sit on my knees, but wasn't able to stand up properly. I grabbed my swords and tried using them as support to lift myself, but even with them I couldn't stand up properly.

 _Oh screw it!_

I pulled my hand to the side, taking aim to the walking stray, throwing Kanshou towards him. The blade was spinning fast like a boomerang, the sound of it cutting through the air echoed in the room.

As it was closing in on Kurosaiga I couldn't help but notice a mark on my extended hand, turquoise in color with a form similar to a pipe line system of sorts. I chose to ignore and focus at my enemy.

He stopped walking and twisted himself around, blocking the incoming sword and repelling it, flying back towards me and stabbing itself right in front of me.

What truly shocked me wasn't the fact that he managed to stop the sword, but rather happened when he did. When he blocked it, he was pushed back a few inches. I barely made him flinch earlier when we crossed swords, and at that time I was using all the strength I could put in the swords.

And yet this time, I threw the sword and it had enough strength to push him back.

''You know,'' I was stared down by the stray, his expression a mixture of surprise and annoyance. ''While I should applaud your fighting spirit, please just stop it. We both know that you can't win, even if you were to promote into a Queen that won't be enough.''

I inhaled a large amount of air in my lungs, forcing myself back on my feet, lifting my swords up once more. ''Even if I can't promote, I won't just sit and let someone die!''

''Tsk... You're an idiot... just like I used to be.'' He rubbed the back of his head and sighed. ''Very well, since you have now intention of giving up, I will fight you till the end.'' He pointed his katana to his side, the teal light appearing once more, his legs slowly starting to move forward.

I managed to push myself up, the dizziness and puking sensation reduced. Taking Bakuya in my hand, I began walking slowly, picking up Kanshou on my way.

My body felt so heavy and yet I still marched on towards my opponent, both of us slowly picking up the pace as we approached each other.

The first five steps were difficult, the next five felt smoother. The steps that followed after felt lighter, the heaviness of the wounds felt like it was lifted the moment we crossed swords.

The clashing of strengths began once more, when my blades got close to him, he would push them back. My teeth grinded against each other as I tried to muster the power to overcome him, the taste of blood and bile still lingering in my mouth.

Although I knew I was fighting a battle I had little chance of winning, I still held my stand. My muscles felt like there was electricity running through them, making me feel like I could go beyond my limit. I pushed my swords forward, the turquoise mark appearing on both my arms, glowing more intense than before.

Kurosaiga's eyes widen as my swords were slowly pushing him back, his eyebrows forming in an annoyed frown. His right hand let go of his katana, pulling it back and tightening his fist.

Faster than I could react, he punched me in the face, his fist burying deep in my cheek, two or three of my teeth cracking from it. With the edge of my eye I could see him smirking, the said smirk dropping when he saw that I was pushing his fist back. In the reflection of Kanshou I could see the same mark from before appear on my face, right where he punched me.

If he wanted to brawl, two could play at this game. I pulled my leg and kicked him in the ribs, a painful grunt painted on his face as the end of my shoe buried in his flesh.

''T-The hell?!'' he asked as blood erupted through his teeth, letting go of his fist and grabbing my face, he pushed me to the side, my body sent crushing to the ground. I stabbed Bakuya in the ground to stop my fall, spinning around it and pulling myself up. ''What kind of game are you playing, tricking me that you can't promote so you can catch me off guard?!''

''Huh?'' What was he talking about?

I didn't promote... or at least I don't think I did. I was very sure that one couldn't promote without declaring it, and I didn't even think about promoting at the time. Although promotion could explain why I suddenly had more strength, but if I didn't promote... then what did I do?

I brushed those thoughts to the side as I heard my opponent spit a mouthful of blood, whipping the remains on his lips with his sleeves.

Spotting an opening I dashed forward and aimed for his neck. He blocked me, but was slightly pushed back. I circled around him and tried to stab him in the back, but he flipped his katana and placed the blade at his back, blocking the attack. The teal aura around it intensified, erupting towards me, sending me fly a few meters in the air.

My hands began shivering again, but this I managed to overcome it slightly. He jumped towards me, his katana aimed at my chest, I pushed myself to the side, shielding my vitals with my swords. Sparks almost hit my eyes when his passed me and his sword ran against mine. When I landed on the ground I leaped straight to where he was about to land. I aimed for his kidneys, but he turn around and deflect my attack with his own.

Our battle of blades began once more. Blocking, paring, dodging and countering. My heart beating like a drum as this dance of blades continued, the feeling of electricity surging through my body intensifying with each exchange.

In a moment of charging towards him, time seemed to slow down. As I tried to overcome him, everything went blank.

* * *

Images flashed through my mind, the world around me seemed to bend and morph, colors mixing and intertwining, what was up was now down, what was left was now right. Everything was like that for a moment, but it then changed. I found myself in a foreign location.

Light cracking through the old windows, traces of dust filling the air, the smell of oil and small amounts of mold.

It was a rather odd scene I was witnessing there, the image of a man sitting on the ground in what appeared an old shed, surrounded by all kinds of mundane things, like light bulbs, some metal pipes, bolts, rocks. In the background were a lot of old pieces of furniture and electric appliances.

I felt the most unusual sensation when I looked at him. Was it because of the fact that I somehow couldn't see his face? Or was it because he had on his hand the same marks that I had when I fought Kurosaiga?

I kept starring at the man, his body tensing and sweating as he kept shifting through objects. With the exception of many one or two lucky ones, everything else that passed through his hands would crumble, break and shatter.

I didn't know where I was, who the person was, or why I was even here in the first place... and yet I knew what he was doing. It was the first time I saw it, but I understood exactly what he was trying to do.

He was performing...

* * *

 _Reinforcement._

A skill that lets the user analyse the structural composition of an object with the purpose of pushing its basis to the utmost limit. The power to enhance the existence of the target by pouring magical energy in it, be it an object or my own body.

A blade sharper, a rock harder, a fire burning fiercer, a poison becoming more potent. This were just some of the few possibilities that this skill offered me.

Now I understand. Each time he was about to lethally injure me I subconsciously reinforced my body, but I was barely tapping in its full potential. The electric sensation circulating through my body, it was the reinforcement. I may had just found the way to flip the tables.

I grasped the concept, understanding it, the steps and mode of operation invading my mind. Letting the sensation go wild through my body, I began reinforcing my body completely, going beyond its current limits. I took a second and experience this tense sensation. Almost all my physical abilities have been augmented, strength to bend steel, endurance to resist powerful explosions, and agility to dodge speeding bullets.

His katana was about to pierce my heart. I deflected it with Bakuya, the force of the impact sending his arm to the side, his vitals now open.

A small smirk formed on my lips. It was time I returned the favor for hurting my comrades.

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Would you look at that!'' Taiga comment with a straight face as she closed the T.V. in the dojo.

''So Ray-san finally decide to get back to his writing.'' Miyu commented rather stoic after checking the date from the last story update.

Taiga shrugged her shoulders and let out a tired sigh. ''Can you blame the guy, he was in exam session all February. But at least he managed to pass all exams.''

Illya let out a similar sigh. ''To be honest I was expecting more writing from him considering the time since the last update.''

''Actually...'' Miyu raised her hand and pointed to the book of the story content. ''Apparently the chapter was about double the number of words so he decided to split them into two chapters. Since he didn't want to confuse the readers he will post the next chapter in a couple of days after its checked for mistakes.''

''WHAT?!'' Taiga turned around in shock, grabbing the book out of Miyu's hand and fast forwarding through it. ''You mean to tell me that sorry excuse for an author had a chapter worth of content already done and didn't post it earlier?!'' the rage of the tiger woman took shape and exploded in a golden aura around her.

''Wow.'' Miyu commented with half lidded eyes. ''She just went super saiyan.''

''Miyu don't!'' Illya jumped and put her palms around Miyu's mouth. ''We can't say stuff like that! It's licensed!''

''He shall feel readers wrath!'' Taiga roared in rage grabbing her trusted Tora-Shinai, heading straight to the authors office.

''Ahhh! We need to stop her!'' Illya screamed in fear for the life of the author.

''Stay tuned for the next chapter 'Stray hunt part III: Limit Breaker'.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''CHECK IT OUT!'' Taiga yelled as she broke the author's office door with her shinai.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Yeah... Man its been a while... i kinda shot myself in the leg by making Shirou having limited skill access, i have to think of dynamic and unboring ways of fighting using Kanshou and Bakuya this chapter.**

 **Although now that i think about it, by limiting Shirou's powers, I am putting a limit on my options as well, so instead of just making him spam weapons and make him do the same things over and over again, i expand my field of ideas and develop my insight on battle scenes... even though i hate them... seriously its really hard to write battle scenes... guess that one of the reasons why it took so long to finally publish this chapter.**

 **Wonder if people still remember me?**

 **So i saw the illustrations of Volume 23 of DxD. Am i the only one who was kinda disappointed by Gabriel's design? Don't take me wrong, i do think she looks nice overall, but i was kinda expecting a more mature looking lady, not someone who could fit right away in Kuoh High.**

 **Speaking of Volume 23. I noticed that a new character called Kiyotora Shinra appeared. I didn't read since i'm waiting for translation, but does anyone have any idea what's this characters relationship with Tsubaki? Is he a sibling, a uncle, a cousin? I'm curious since it could be some writing material with him.**

 **So if anyone knows i'd greatly appreciate it.**

 **Announcement: (Don't worry, it's nothing bad!) So I've been struggling in between giving Shirou a sacred gear or not. So I've decided to make a poll and let you decide if he should get one or not, about which sacred gear it is or how he got one that's up for me to decide, but you guys votes will decide if he gets one at all. Also don't worry about the sacred gear stealing the spot line of his tracing because at the end of the day a SG is nothing but another weapon to Shirou, a weapon which Shirou will integrate into his fighting style.**

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

 **YuukiAsuna-Chan: It wasn't my intention tbh, I'm not into Naruto that much. While the explication for the DxD devil magic is simple, I want to give it a little detail, some ups and downs to them.**

 **Sonicdude8: Let's just say it's a little combination of both. It will be explained later on.**

 **Dragon Rider 66: Yep I can see that happen. Actually I have an idea about it as well, I would like to hear yours. Finally yes, Issei will be involved, but it isn't the canon time line yet, right now the story is right before Issei was killed by Raynare, I'd say that somewhere after chapters 10-15 the canon story time line will start.**

 **DPSS: Well I think it's a bit of a stretch to compare Saji to Shinji. It will be revealed very soon why he acts a little bit like a prick. Yep she will have a field day all right.**

 **idea. getthe** **: Tsk... Is it really that hard?... Fine here's a clue, the ring tone of Shirou's phone that was shown in this chapter, that's all I'm giving.**

 **Limbob7125: That's a bit debatable because Shirou's physical change was because he used his powers alone, without the card, basically using magecraft that at the time was too strong for him to handle and it cause his body to change like that. Actually that was an intentional omission on my part, the devices function was to determine only element, not origin as well.**

 **It will be revealed in time, and I try to cover most of the details.**

 **the unsung antihero: About Archer changing Shirou... well let's just say that not everything is what it first seems, but it will all be revealed.**

 **paradox0.5white: Actually there was one. Yeah, yeah I remember it now, there was one written by Leona-do but he/she deleted it. (I think it was because of the complains of the readers, which doesn't surprises me considering that he made Shirou kill Grayfia)**

 **Minazaki: Well there will be some OC arcs, but there will also be the canon ones. It's the idea that while the Gremory team does their stuff, the Sitri will their own.**

 **L33t Horo: I suck at fight scenes... it's a 50/50 chance that I either nail a fight scene or not.**

 **Also thanks a lot for the monster card idea... now I can't get the image of Shirou wearing a long skirt out of my head.**

 **Daemon of Wrath: Well he didn't go insane so to say, but his morals sure took a deed hit and he became a little unstable, developing some small personality shifts.**

 **Shaded122: He will learn fast id say. As you can see in this chapter he unlocked his main abilities so to say, now he has to expand them to new levels. But to spoil a little, the powers he is receiving will come at a price.**

 **Lsilver19: Dunno why I did that tbh, maybe self-motivation to write next chapter already. Well the thing is that most authors write a version of Shirou that is already aware of his distortion, but I never really saw one write a version of him that is struggling with it. Well it's of a matter of being aware of his magecraft, he can't use something he isn't aware he has in the first place, so as he will learn them with the help of his card, but he will eventually stop depending on it (also regarding the HP idea... while I won't go into detail let's just say that using the card won't be without consequences). About the pairing part... let's say a mix of both.**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	6. Stray Hunt III: Limit Breaker

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this**

* * *

 _Things certainly turned out really strange that time..._

 _By standing on the threshold of death I unraveled many of my questions._

 _My perception of things changing._

 _I could see the truth of objects by looking at them..._

 _I could see the truth about people who were connected to those objects._

 _And yet..._

 _I couldn't see the truth about myself..._

 _The truth that would shatter me one day._

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

 **Stray hunt III: Limit breaker**

* * *

I used Kanshou to deflect his katana, immediately running over his chest with Bakuya. Blood erupted from the wound, a pain filled grunt escaping his mouth. He brought down his katana in response, aiming for my liver. I let the black steel of his katana approach me as much as it was necessary, blocking it at the very last moment, the momentum carrying him closer to me. I aimed Bakuya to his chest.

His eyes widen as he comprehend what just happened and what was going to in the next three seconds. A tinge of panic took over his expression, but it was only for a second. He managed to use his left leg as a break and stop his momentum, shooting his right knee up into Bakuya's blade, cutting the said knee very deep in the process, but causing enough impact to change its trajectory from his chest to graze his shoulder.

The whole display let me stunned for a second, enough time for him to kick me with his good knee in my upper arm, making me stumble a few meters.

It may have been a reckless move to hit the blade of my sword with his knee, but considering that the alternative was having it stab his chest, he ended up with more manageable wounds.

While I was picking myself up, Kurosaiga put some the distance between us, the knee wound was causing him a hard time walking.

He took a look at his knee for a second and growled annoyed. He grabbed on one of the sleeves of his jacket and ripped it off, wrapping it around his knee as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding.

''Aghh!'' he shrieked as he tied the knot around his knee, no doubt that the wound was still throbbing. The next thing that came out of his mouth surprised me. ''Hehe~.'' He chuckled with a strained voice, a mixture of amusement and pain. ''So you managed to promote after all, and here I thought you were some kind of failure.''

I was a little confused by his statement, so it seemed like I promoted in his eyes, well he didn't need to know what my powers really were. I took advantage of his sudden relaxation to look for any visible openings. ''You don't say, I'm so glad to entertain the guy who wants to make me one with the earth.'' I almost rolled my eyes while saying those words.

''Don't be like that. Some people just like the feeling of a good fight.'' He shrugged his shoulders, opening his arms as if he was welcoming someone. ''Your heart racing violently, your blood rushing through your veins, the adrenaline coursing through your body, the fear of losing your life at one moment of miscalculation, the satisfaction of breaking through your limits and defeat your enemy. All of these feelings create the unique sensation that is the thrill of battle.''

''Sorry, but I don't get that thrill.'' I commented with sigh. ''Perhaps if this was simply a fight without any stakes I might have found some form of entertainment in it, but it isn't.''

''Suit yourself.'' He shrugged as he brought his katana to the side, beginning to walk slowly towards me.

My hands tightened on the grip on the sword handles, my body tense as he approached me. However the tension in my body vanished the moment I saw an orange light cover Kurosaiga's right side. ''Hmm?'' A confused expression was present on his face as he turned his head to see what it was. His eyes widen and his mouth opened as a giant fire ball crashed in his body, exploding on the moment of impact.

I protected my eyes with my arm from the incoming heat wave. I could feel the intense heat dry the sweat on my body, almost causing me burns.

As the heat reduced, I took a moment and tried to figure out what just happened. Tracing back the trajectory of the attack, I saw who was behind it.

Up on the railing, hand extended and shaking, a magic seal present in front it with steam rising from it, Kusaka was panting heavily as she tried to keep herself straight. Right behind her everyone else from our peerage was present, each of them looking like they saw better days, covered in make-shift bandages and slings.

When I saw them all still here I felt like an unparalleled weight fell on my shoulders, threatening to crush me. ''What are you guys still doing here?!'' I snapped at them.

''W-We couldn't just leave you behind Emiya.'' Hanakai answered in the name of the group, part of her face swollen black and blue, right eyes cringing as blood was dripping out of her arcade.

Her answer was the last thing I wanted to hear.

''Get out of here before it's too late!'' I almost begged them to leave. The reason why I was fighting Kurosaiga was to buy them enough time to escape, the fact that they didn't only meant things have just got from bad to worse.

It was already hard enough to deal with Kurosaiga while trying to keep myself alive, but they being here only complicated things. While I could use some help and support to fight the stray, all of them had serious injuries. Letting them join the fight would be more dangerous than fighting by myself.

The sense of dread increase with each passing second, no telling what may happen nex-

''Now that isn't very nice.'' I quickly turned around to the still burning fire where Kurosaiga was. My eyes widening as I took notice the silhouette in the center of the swirling flames. I saw it move, the flames splitting in two the following second, the stray was glaring at his attacker he walked out it. ''I get the whole attack your enemy when his guard is down, but that was really rude.''

The attack did not defeat him, but it did seem to injure him. His left side, arm and portion of face were covered in third-degree burns, pieces of black charred flesh overlaying the red bleeding one.

''Should have seen this coming since I didn't kill any of you.'' he sighed as he stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes.

A sudden chill filled the room, a sense of dread rising from Kurosaiga's body as he lifted his katana and placed his free palm on its blade, his fingers trailing on the back of its black steel. The teal aura reappearing once again and clothing the blade in thin veil.

''Seems like I need to teach you kids just who you are dealing with.'' A psychotic smirk appeared on his face, fear invading my body when I saw it. The aura spread from the blade, covering his body from head to toe. He slowly opened his eyes, my heart skipping a beat when I saw them. They were still the same shade of orange, but their sclera were now pitch-black. '' **Senkyokka**!''

The aura covering him exploded and swirled around him in raging waves of teal light. It slowly changed, shifting from a simple teal to a black aura outlined with teal. It gather around his sword wielding hand, taking a shape around it. It was only a ball of dark aura at first, but it slowly took a more distinctive form. There was a cut forming in the lower part of it, square like marks forming on the split lines, two holes forming in the upper side, lastly two sharp members erected from its left and right side.

A skull. A demonic skull. That was the form the aura took, looking like his hand was a skull that was holding the katana between its sharp teeth.

As the aura swirling slowed, the skull shifted, its empty sockets gazing maliciously towards the people standing by the railing. It opened it mouth.

"▂▂▂▂▄▄▄▃▃▃▃▅▅▅▅!" a sound that I couldn't describe escaped its ghostly mouth. It wasn't a shriek, screech or scream, it was something much more sinister. My heart felt like it was being caressed by razor sharp claws when I heard it... and that it could squeeze it at any moment.

The others were affected way more than I was. I could see the unfiltered fear in their eyes, the nervous sweating, the uncontrolled trembling... they were terrified.

A psychotic grin spread across his face, his demonic looking eyes screaming of deep blood thirst.

It felt like ice circulated through my veins when I realized what he was about to do. My body tried to react in that moment, dashing as fast as I could to stop... but I was too late.

The aura sharpened, squirming violently around the edge of the blade. He took a step forward, swinging his katana gently... the next moment it was like death's breath erupted from it.

A stream of black and teal aura got blasted when the swing was done, rushing its way towards my master and the other injured people. The front of the wave morphing into the previous skull form, opening its menacing jaw as if it was trying to devour the others.

I reinforced my eyes to get a better look at the people up on the railing... They were paralyzed. I could see it by the look in their eyes, by the trembling of their bodies, by the terror painted on their faces, they were all far too scared to even try and move.

''Master!'' I looked at my master for a thread of hope. I couldn't stop it, and won't be able to reach them in time, so I had to put my faith into her judgement.

For a moment my words reached her, violet eyes meeting amber ones for a second. In that said lone second I was able to convey my thoughts to her, she understood what would happen if she didn't took a stand. An angry frown appeared on her face, biting her lower lip in frustration at her own inability, small drips of blood rushing from it.

But what could she do? Earlier she barely managed to stop Kurosaiga's normal aura blast, and this one is on a whole different level. Even if they all formed and supported a protective barrier together it still won't be enough.

A frustrated 'tsk' escaped my master's small mouth, her eyes focusing on her trusted Queen. ''Tsubaki! Use your sacred gear!''

The black haired Queen blinked confused for a moment, her eyes widening as she understood what to do. She dashed in front of everyone, right where the wave was gonna strike in the next seconds.

She extended her hands forward, her gaze fixed on the incoming monstrous attack. '' **Mirror Alice**!'' she shouted resolute, a beautiful decorated full body mirror manifested in front of her, much bigger than her own stature.

Contrary to what one would expect, the mirror didn't shatter when the attack hit it, instead the attack seemed to be absorbed in the mirror. When the last trace of aura entered the mirror, cracks began formed in it, the image of the skull appearing in it.

The skull motif stream erupted towards Kurosaiga the moment the mirror shattered. Its size was greater than before, even the amount of power it was emanating was stronger.

Wait... Shinra-senpai told us about her sacred gear Mirror Alice. It allows her to create a mirror with the ability to reflect attacks. The attacks are first absorbed inside of the mirror, followed by releasing the attack back to the enemy with double of its original power. The downside regarding it is that she cannot use it twice in a row without a cool-down period and she cannot use it against melee attacks. This could explain why she didn't use it earlier.

The magnitude of the attack that was flying back towards its original master might have been just the thing to stop him. I might have smiled after I saw how they were safe, if not for the unimpressed look on Kurosaiga's face.

He simply took a step to the side, shifting himself into a drawing sword stance, his eyes fixed on the incoming attack. The aura shifted, exploding backwards, traces of its teal and black light breaking and flying around him like embers.

He drew his katana, the aura bursting violently towards the incoming reflected one. The size of it... was four times that of the one Shinra-senpai reflected.

As the attack made its way towards the opposite one, the skull motif formed in the wave, opening its menacing jaw, literally swallowing the smaller one. It continued its course towards the ceiling, breaking its way through it, pieces of debris falling everywhere as the ceiling was destroyed.

Through the thick layer of dust, rays of light began piercing and illuminating the room. If the situation wasn't so dire perhaps I might found the image of Kurosaiga bathed in the moonlight surrounded by the small flares of his aura rather captivating.

''Such a beautiful moon we have tonight.'' The stray took a quick glance at the moon, its light reflecting in the blade of his katana. He then turned his attention towards the group of devils that was flabbergasted from his display of strength. A small snort escaped his lips. ''I hope this little demonstration made you realize the amount of shit your currently in.''

My master bit her lip in frustration, no doubt the situation was getting worse by the second in her eyes. While I didn't learn much about the devil society and its ways, I did learn enough to understand what was going on here. While my master and Kurosaiga are both of a high-class rank, there is a major difference between them.

The difference of an inherited title and earned one.

Due to how the devil hierarchy works, each devil is given a rank. The everyday citizens and reincarnated devils are given a low class rank no matter who they were before they were converted, they are generally referred as commoners, servants, the bottom of the social ladder.

The high class devils are the aristocrats, the nobility of the underworld society. Most of the holders of this rank are the descendants of the seventy pillars, the pure blooded devils, the ones that inherited the blood lines of the first seventy-two leaders of hell's legions.

But that's the very problem.

Each pure blooded devil receives the title of high class from the very first day they are born. They aren't required to work or train even a single day in their life in order to obtain the title, they receive it by default for simply being a 'pure devil'.

That's why even though a devil possesses the title of high-class, his overall powers and abilities may not be worthy of the title, and could even be defeated by a low class devil. In other words it's just a title in name only, a given one, not an earned one.

My master said when she first saw Kurosaiga that his power was high-class. If I were to draw a comparison line between him and her, I would be inclined to believe that she isn't worthy of her title yet. This may be the reason to why she appears so shaken. It's not all because she is afraid of Kurosaiga's display of power, but rather it's because she is doubting herself and her strength.

She may afraid and confuse, but what about me?

Unlike her... I don't have the time or luxury of being scared. For the weight of the lives resting on my shoulder outweighs anything else I'm feeling.

''Leave them out of this. Your fight is with me.'' My voice was cold and sharp, like a sword, getting the attention of the stray.

''Hey, why are you getting all mad at me for?'' he sighed as he checked his burned skin on left pectoral, grimacing as he understood his current predicament. The material of his jacket didn't get completely burned off, and instead melted into his skin. He took a moment and braced himself as he took hold of the remains of his jacket. With one swift pull he ripped the jacket off, together with the flesh in which the material melted in, blood pouring out of the fresh lacerations. It may have seemed like a reckless move, causing himself to bleed for nothing, but because the material of his clothes melted with in his skin, it was limiting his movement. After a few painful grunts he looked back at me. ''Little Miss Braids over there is the one who interrupted us. I can duel honorably if the person I'm facing is worthy, but if others can't stay out I won't show any mercy!''

I narrowed my eyes at him, the body that was concealed underneath his jacket present for the world to see. He may appear like a lean individual at first glance, but now that I see it he is in fact very muscular. The old scars present on his body a statement of the fights he has endured during his life. I decided to through in my own two cents. ''This isn't a duel. This is a battle, and battles are unpredictable, you never know what may happen if you aren't careful for even a second.''

Not counting the incident with Neculai, this was my very first real battle. However, deep down I couldn't help but feel that I knew more about combat than I should at the moment.

Kurosaiga stared at me for a few moments as if he was contemplating something. ''Hey that just gave me an idea. '' He snapped his fingers with a brightened expression. He pointed his blade forward, a small white glow appearing on the tip of his left hand index finger.

He began trailing his glowing finger on his dark blade in a curios manner, as if he was scribbling something on it.

''Rune magic?'' I heard Hanakai gasp in both awe and fear. If I remember correctly rune magic is of Norse origin.

He stopped inscribing on the blade and the runes glowed in pale white light. He rotated the katana in his hand, kneeling on his good leg and stabbed the rune scribed blade in the floor.

''The only rune combination I have, which I use for creating barriers.'' A smog like substance erupted from where he stabbed with blade. It quickly spread in the room like a thick mist, completely surrounding us. Curiously it didn't seem to go all the way to where the others were. In fact it seemed to stop spreading at one point and it took a dome like shape.

I jumped a few meters backwards and touched where the wall of mist was formed. I immediately retracted my hand as stabbing pain invaded it the moment I touched the transparent wall, small burn marks forming on the skin of my palm.

''I wouldn't do that if I were you.'' Kurosaiga commented with glee in his voice, clearly amused by my actions. ''Also before you ask what I did, I created a special barrier using my katana's aura around us so those pesky friends of yours don't interrupt us again. ''

Again... his action made no sense. He just demonstrated that he could just kill them with that aura attack of his, and yet he chooses to fight me one on one... just what was he aiming for?

I was never really a person that understood what others think, so I couldn't think of why he was acting this way. If only there were a way for me to understand him. A way for me to see just what is hiding behind that smirk of his.

 _A way to grasp the truth._

The more I tried to find the answers I sought, the more questions I got in return. Whenever I thought I understood his drive, his motive, I realized that it wasn't that simple.

And yet... the more I tried to understand him, the more my eyes got captivated by his dark katana. Although it's the weapon of my enemy and he kept using it to hurt me and my comrades, I couldn't help but admire its beauty.

A tainted beauty was the best way to describe it.

Its aura fills me up with such a cold sensation, its steel is dyed pitch black, and the scent of blood surrounding it like a thick layer. It has so many flaws... but I still find beauty in it in spite of them.

The grip on my sword handles tightened. Even if I knew... I doubt it wouldn't change the fact that were are fighting now.

Kurosaiga shifted his katana to his side, dashing towards me at much greater speed than before. When our swords clashed, I almost got sent flying again, his brute physical strength increased as well. My jaw tightened as I tried to fight back, our swords clashing like violent waves, sparks and traces of his aura flying everywhere like New Year fireworks.

It could be that when he used that Senkyouka move of his, all of his physical abilities have increased. If that is truly the case... The scales just tipped in his favor.

His black sclera eyes stared into my white ones, a savage smile creeping on his face revealing far too many teeth for my comfort. The aura on his katana flared up and appeared to sharpen with each exchange that went between us, slowly cornering me.

 _Crack._

My eyes widened as small cracks began spreading on my blades, quickly expanding under the barrage of aura backed up strikes made by the stray.

 _A tingling sensation circulating through my eyes._

I immediately took a few steps backwards in an attempt to make some distance between us, only to find that I run out of space and was with my back to the wall.

Kurosaiga brought his sword down in an arc, I ducked and used my swords to protect my head. As his katana was passing by, taking some of my hair on its way, I saw the reflection of my eyes in its black steel.

An image flashed in front of my eyes.

 _The lone figure of a man holding a black katana, sitting in the middle of a room filled with mutilated corpses, dozens of black feathers scattered everywhere. His face was blurred and I couldn't make up any of his features, but I could see the rivers of tears running down his face._

When the image vanished I pushed myself against the wall and put some distance between me and Kurosaiga.

 _Just what did I just saw?_

When I got back on my feet I dodged an incoming stab aimed my throat, my eyes looking at the blade again. The same phenomenon happened and an image flashed in front of my eyes.

 _The silhouette of man kneeling and gently kissing the hand of what appeared to be a woman. While his head was looking down, a large disturbing smile was painted on the woman's face._

Not having time to block, I bent my neck to left, right before the blade stabbed me, cutting my neck lightly. I used this opportunity and shifted the swords in my hands, rushing them to his open vitals in a cross motion.

He grabbed my shirt with his open hand and flipped himself up, my swords passing through where he was a second ago. My eyes shot right up to see him hang in the air right above me.

With a loud thud he back flipped and landed behind me, but he didn't let go of my shirt. With a loud battle cry he violently pulled me by the shirt and threw me like a training dummy, sending me stumble on the ground.

I could swear that this guy had a hobby of throwing and smashing people into floors and walls.

As I stumbled on the hard floor, I stabbed my sword in the ground to halt my crashing. Ignoring the pain of a possible cracked shoulder, I looked up and saw the tip of his blade rushing towards my left eye.

I used Bakuya as my shield and deflected his attack, my eyes once again scanning his blade.

 _Again..._

 _The image of the woman from earlier surrounded by other shadowy figures, all of them laughing maliciously as the man with the katana around his waist was on his knees in the middle of them, screaming desperately to the sky, his orange eyes revealed... filled with tears and unfiltered rage._

 _Everything turned red._

The aura flared around his blade, a column of malevolent energy building in it, making the katana appear several times bigger. He started swinging his katana without taking even a second to rest, streams of aura launched to me with each swing, each stream with enough force to kill me.

I managed to dodge the first three by dashing left and right, the next two I had to jump and bend down. The following four I couldn't simply dodge and had to use my swords to protect myself, the already large cracks in them growing to their limit.

Kurosaiga positioned himself in a sword drawing position, the aura surrounding his katana exploded backwards, the stray shooting towards me like a bullet.

The sound of metal shattering filled the room, followed by the sound of blood dripping. A painful gasp escaped my mouth as I felt the left side of my abdomen get slashed open by Kurosaiga as he dashed past me, my blades shattering when I tried to block him.

My eyes winded as I looked at the broken fragments of Kanshou and Bakuya hovering in front of me, each piece slowly turning to teal dust, vanishing in the air. My face cringed in pain and frustration. I could go on with the injury that was currently in my stomach, but that how was I supposed to fight him now that my weapons have shattered?

A cough of blood rushed out of my throat, the pain of my injury starting to reach my attention. My right knee turning soft and letting me down, I almost hit the floor if I wasn't fast enough to use my left arm as a sustaining pillar.

As the blood was dripping from my wounds and mouth, my eyes drifted towards the stray a few meters away, him swinging his katana with a strong motion to get rid of the blood on its tip.

Even though he is my enemy... even though he is a stray... I can feel his dedication for his katana.

How odd... even though the situation is so dire, I still can't help but admire his katana.

Time seemed to slow down as tried to get up, my eyes constantly keeping track of his weapon, the itching sensation in them getting stronger with each passing moment.

A jolt of pain resonated in my head, more precisely in my eyes. I grabbed my face with my free hand, only for the pain to increase. Through the cracks of my fingers I tried keeping Kurosaiga in my sight, but the pain was making that rather difficult.

Something happened to my vision, it started going static, like an old broken TV, shifting between the correct image and static. This process kept on as the pain continued to linger in my eyes.

In a moment the pain seemed to reach my breaking point, but in the next it suddenly stopped. No more pain invaded my mind, instead something else took its place.

 _Knowledge._

 _Images, sounds, information's, and memories._

 _Every single one of them connected to the very katana that Kurosaiga is wielding._

 _I see..._

I understand now... everything was clear now. All of my question regarding the stray in front of me have been answered. However this only made things more difficult for me. Both in regards to the fighting, but also about my overall sentiments for the stray.

I now see his side of the story. All thanks to the other missing piece of the card's skills.

 _Structural Grasping._

The ability to understand the structure and design of objects as if I were viewing a blueprint, but also view its history, as if reading a book, understanding the events that the said objects were involved in.

Thanks to it, I was able to understand.

''I see now... no wonder that katana is so strong.'' I muttered with a sore cough as I tried to pick myself up, the pain in my head was gone but the one made by his last attack still throbbed violently in my abdomen. Kurosaiga narrowed his eyes at my words, appearing curious by what I was about to say next. ''A cursed katana forged during the golden age of Japanese blacksmiths, a weapon of highest quality, bathed in the ambition of its creator.'' My eyes locked on the said blade. ''A Muramasa katana, forged by Muramasa Sengo himself, his most famous creation, **Juuchi Yosamu**.''

''Hoo~ so you recognized my katana?'' He whistled as he traced his fingers over the dull part of his weapon. ''Well might as well congratulate you for recognizing this weapon, however knowing what this katana is won't really help you.''

My eyes narrowed at his black sclera one. ''Perhaps, but I can't help but wonder how you aren't rampaging like a mad beast.''

He tilted his neck to the side, a small arrogant smirk adorned on his face. ''Maybe I'm just a little special, you know one of those 'true sword users', the kind of person who has a perfect affinity for a weapon and doesn't get affected by its negative effects.'' A slasher smiled grew on his lips. ''Though I have to admit that using it makes me a bit edgy, but I can keep it under control.''

''And I guess that's also the reason why your friends are still alive.'' He swinged his katana to the side, suddenly a very deep slash mark appeared on the wall a few meters away were he pointed. ''You see this sword is like a really clingy girlfriend. The moment I take my eyes of it, it gets really jealous and it will start cutting things I don't even want to get cut.''

I knew all of that, but he wasn't entirely truthful with me. The bloodlust that katana has is very powerful, making it so it would cause harm to its own user if it meant its hunger was satisfied.

''Is that really the reason why they're alive?'' I narrowed my eyes at him. ''Because I find it weird that besides my master, you never use that sword on anyone else. You kicked, punched, threw, used the swords aura, but never directly cut anyone else besides her... and me.''

He could have killed all of us. He could have done that from the start if that was what he truly wanted and yet he didn't to do it, not only that but he deliberately restricted his own blade from going wild and tearing us to pieces. Just the air pressure was strong enough to cut the rock wall, should he really have tried to kill me... the whole room would be painted in my blood and remains.

He wouldn't do it... if he had a choice in the matter.

''You really talk too much kid...'' his smiled dropped and got replaced by an irritated scowl. ''I have a grudge against pure-blooded devils... reincarnated devils are a whole different story.''

He was speaking the truth, but that wasn't all it was to it. ''Killing my master won't make you feel any better, you know that don't you?''

''What?'' he looked confused at me, curios to what I was talking about.

I took a deep breath, choosing my words carefully as I was already treading on thin ice. ''Even if you were to kill her and all the pure-blooded devils out there, the void in you won't fill.''

''Shut up...'' his voice turned cold and serious.

''You were nothing but a victim, a victim of the manipulations of a pure-blooded devil. No matter how you pleaded or what evidence you could have brought, it wouldn't have done anything.''

''Shut up!'' His weapon started shaking, his eyes covered by the shadows of his bangs.

''You already killed her... and all of her peerage members that were involved, you already got your vengeance. Please stop it before it's too late.''

''I SAID SHUT UP!'' he sent a slash of wind pressure towards me. I didn't react and let it pass, the force cutting my right cheek, blood flowing fast out of the wound.

''I can't do it...'' For the first time since I meet him, Kurosaiga was showing rage and frustration, but above all his trembling eyes were filled with pain and regret. ''I tried... believe me I tried so hard... but as much as I would like to go back it's already too late...'' He grabbed his face with his free hand, a bitter chuckle escaping through his fingers. ''Once a person shatters... even if all the pieces are put back together, the cracks will still remain. ''

His words... they somehow seem to linger in my mind.

I bit my lip in frustration realizing that there was only one thing left that I could do. I understood it... but I didn't like it.

Perhaps if the situation was different, if only things played out differently I wouldn't have to do this. But I didn't have a choice... I could feel it... my limit was drawing near. I can't drag this fight anymore, it's now a race between my body giving up on me and defeating him.

''Lets end this.'' I muttered I kneeled down and picked a piece of Shinra-senpai's broken naginata, ripping a piece of my shirt and wrapping it around the lower part of the blade as a makeshift handle.

The stray stared at me for a few seconds, his grip tightening around his weapon. ''You know that fighting me is suicide and yet you still don't give up. Why? For what reason are you fighting for? What could is making risk yourself like this?!''

''Are you doing it for her?'' he pointed to my master, venom filling his voice. ''You trust her so much that you are willing to risk it all?''

I took a moment and let what he said sit in, my eyes locked on his own. ''It's not something poetic like dedication, love or friendship. While I do like the others, I can't really say that I'm fighting for their sake.''

''Then why are doing it?''

My senses seemed to freeze for a second, a sharp pain ran through my head as the images of fire and death flashed through my mind. ''I refuse to let anyone die in front on me... even if I know that I can't win, I won't give up. That's all there is to it.''

''You... '' His eyes widened as if he just realized something, but for a moment those said eyes seemed to soften, a sad look present in them as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. ''Guess I'm not the only broken person here.''

''Very well...'' he muttered as he took his battle stance, the air around him heavy with the seriousness his face was displaying. ''We both won't give up so we might as well end it once and for all.''

''I acknowledge you and your resolve kid, actions speak louder than words and you proved yourself to me by surviving this far. For that I will end this in one attack.'' He drew his katana back and took a drawing position. ''My name Ichirou Kurosaiga, former human and swordsmen.''

I narrowed my eyes and let out a tired sigh, I wasn't a person who really believed in honor and chivalry, but I felt that he deserved that much. ''Shirou Emiya.''

A small nod was his response, followed by shifting his weight on his right leg.

A sense of dread filled my body and heart starting to beat violently as I recognized the stance he was taking. Thanks to structural grasping I knew what he was about to do... and it scared the hell out of me.

Juuchi Yosamu may be indeed a powerful katana, but its true potential was awakened thanks to Kurosaiga's dedication and his natural affinity towards it.

It's by nature a katana of the highest quality, filled with the blood lust that turned in time turned into a curse that slowly turned the users into mindless killers.

Kurosaiga was its first true owner that was able to control its killing impulses, in fact he was the one to turn into a true destructive weapon. After he was turned into a devil he began using it in tandem with his demonic energy, fusing it together with the curse of the weapon.

'Senkyouka' was his very own creation, a technique in which he fuses his demonic energy together with the katana's own curse aura, manipulating it and creating a wave of energy of great power which he displayed earlier.

However there was one more form he developed. A superior version that makes the first pale in comparison... and he just took the stance for using it.

My hand tightened on the sorry excuse for a weapon I was holding. Even though I managed to understand the structural grasping and reinforcement, it won't be enough for me to defeat him without a proper weapon... no... even if I still had Kansho and Bakuya it wouldn't raise my chances of surviving this next attack.

I was a sitting duck.

 _ **''Seems like you are having a rough time.''**_

My eyes widened as I heard him talk to me, with all the crazy fighting that's been going on I actually forgot about him.

 _Archer, now is not the time. I have to think of a way to counter him or I'm dead._

 _ **''Oh really, and here I thought we could chat. Anyway you won't be able to beat him the way you are fighting now.''**_

 _Oh my, I would have never imagined that. Then why don't you come here in my place and you do it!_

 _ **''I actually would do that if I could, but my hands are a bit tied up at the moment.''**_

 _Say... What you told me the first time we talked... Would I be able to use Install right now?_

 _ **''Forget about it. There's no telling what side effects using the Install would have on you even if you were in peak physical condition. With the way your body is right now using it would be suicide.''**_

 _Dammit..._

 _ **''However... The least I can do is offer you some strategic advice.''**_

 _As much as I want to complain for not offering any earlier when I was getting my ass kicked... I'm all ears._

 _ **''All this time you have been fighting by instinct without knowing how to properly use the cards skills as well as the swords you were given, if you want a chance to beat him, then learn to understand your enemy first. But before you do that, you need to understand the enemy's weapon first.''**_

 _Understand my enemy's weapon?_

 _ **''In other words. If you cannot defeat your enemy with the weapon you do have, then imagine one with which you could.''**_

I pondered at his words... I felt like something deep within me responded to them. A gear beginning to turn. For a moment my mind felt like it was in completed darkness, with a single spec of light appearing in the middle of it. Deep in my mind I tried to grasp the small light, everything turning white as it got enclosed into my mental hand.

I blinked several times, my mouth hanging slightly. Everything was now clear to me.

I was a fool... the way I've been fighting up until now... it was wrong.

I understand now... the final piece of the puzzle.

 _Projection._

A sharp sound filled the room, the aura of Juuchi Yosamu manifested violently, growing and twisting itself around the blade even more intense that earlier. Slowly the aura started expanding around Kurosaiga's body, turning itself into a veil that completely coated him.

The very floor under him began cracking from the intensity of the aura, a small crater forming in the spot he was standing.

He was ready to unleash his attack.

Time was running out, there was room for 'ifs' or 'maybes', I had only one chance to survive this next attack and there wasn't room for even a single misstep.

One shot was all I had, and I wasn't going to waste it. Taking in a deep breath I prepared myself, recalling the fight with Neculai, the seven steps that went through my mind at that time, the two words that triggered everything.

I slowly began, my eyes closing and clearing my mind of any unnecessary thoughts.

 _Search start._

If I get taken out, Kaichou is dead. I can't let that happen. I need a weapon... a weapon that will let me fight.

 _Searching..._

A powerful weapon that can protect me from the curses surging from his blade.

 _Searching..._

A weapon that can compete against his, the exact antithesis of his weapon.

 _Searching..._

I need a weapon that can defeat Juuchi Yosamu!

 _Match found._

It was only for a short while... but I saw it... the place that I saw in that dream.

 _The hill of swords._

The desolated landscape filled with nothing but lonely weapons. The curious part was that I couldn't see the weapons... no that wasn't right... I was able to make out what each weapon was by their blurred out silhouettes, but I couldn't see their details.

All except for one single sword.

On instinct or perhaps on pure curiosity I extended my hand towards it, the sword responding to my call, pulling itself out of the lifeless ground and flying towards my hand. The moment my fingers touched it I understood why it showed itself to me.

'' **Trace On!** ''

Energy erupted in my hand, the projection starting, the inside of my chest burning.

'' **Ah, shadow that passes through the still of night, unleash the black wave of wrath, eradicate all opposing enemies!** '' Kurosaiga shouted as his aura reached its peak, taking the skull appearance once again, even more sinister and demonic than ever before, making it look like his whole body was swallowed by the nightmarish skull.'' **Senkyouka: Kai!** ''

The energy swirled around my arms, finding their way into my palms, starting to take shape in them.

Kurosaiga shot forward, speed exceeding any he'd shown up until now, the road in his path cracking and shattering from the intensity of his aura.

The energies shape started to become clearer, more detailed. From a simple mass of energy it began taking a more recognizable appearance. A sword.

He pulled Juuichi Yosamu to his side, aiming for my side with a full swing, the aura raging around his blade. He swinged it towards me, the blade was approaching me at alarming rate. I could feel getting cut in half even before the steel reached me.

It felt like I was standing still on beach while a tidal wave was just about to swallow me. I put the still projecting sword in front of the incoming enemy one.

Kurosaiga's face was calm, the air around him giving away the feeling of certain victory he was feeling. It was moments before our weapons clashed that I saw the reflection of my projecting weapon in his eyes. Said eyes widening in response to the swords appearance.

It was a tachi katana with a blue leather wrap around the hilt. On the blade collar there is the signature of the blacksmith. One the blades temper line lies a small leaf pattern.

Our weapons clashed. Steel against steel. Katana against katana. The torrents waves of cursed and demonic aura trying to drown me.

"▂▂▂▂▄▄▄▃▃▃▃▅▅▅▅!" the skull like aura let out a scream of agony and rage as it tried to swallow me. It was like I was a stone in the middle of a river and the aura was the water. Sitting firmly in place while the aura flowed against me, reforming right before my back, destroying everything behind me.

The sword was my ward. It protected my body from the wave that could have killed me instantly on contact. It was more of a shield than a sword at the moment.

But even with its protection I felt like my body could get swallowed at any moment. It did guard me against the curses of Juuchi Yosamu, but the sheer force of the aura felt like it was sent me crashing the moment I stopped pushing forward.

I felt my teeth grinding against each other as I tried to push back the stream, my knuckles whitening as I increased the grip on the handle of my sword.

''Hahhhh!'' I let out a battle cry as I pushed forward, breaking our stand, sending his sword to the side. The aura shattering in pieces, vanishing like embers in the cold night air, shock and confusion forming on Kurosaiga's face as I brought my sword down and slashed his chest.

The pain of the injury waking him up from his stun, he cringed in pain, striking against my sword, stepping back out of my reach.

Grunting and panting heavily as his blood was dripping from his chest wound, Kurosaiga narrowed his eyes on the blade I was holding.

''H-How?!'' He asked in disbelief, the black sclera in his eyes disappearing and returning to normal. ''There was no way you could have withstood my attack, there's just no way.''

He was right. I shouldn't have been able to survive his strike by normal means. 'Senkyouka: Kai' is what some would call a one-shot kill, a single destructive strike that decimates the opponent and any nearby people.

He releases all of the demonic and curse energy he can produce and lets its shroud him, augmenting all of his physical abilities by a vast amount. A short yet very powerful boost, similar to a Nitrous Oxide System on a car.

When he reaches the enemy, he transfers all of the power to the blade of the katana, granting him an explosion of overall striking power. About twice as strong as his most powerful wave of normal 'Senkyouka'.

Due to the sheer speed and destructive nature of this technique it's almost impossible for a close range fighter to dodge or stop it, me included. I should have been killed as I couldn't have stopped that attack.

Until now that is.

''What is that katana?'' He muttered in a very irritated tone, his sword hand trembling violently. '' It's making Juuchi Yosamu scream to destroy it. Heck even I feel irritated by looking at it.''

I took a few seconds to collect myself, my stamina was running low. ''There's an old tale of two master blacksmiths that were brought in front of the Shogun and were tasked with forging the best swords they could. One of those men was Sengo Muramasa, the weapon which he presented was non-other than the Juuchi Yosamu you are holding. The other man was known as Masamune, the mentor and rival of Murasama, the weapon he forged was one that opposed Muramasa's katana from almost every perspectives, it was called-''

'' **Yawarakai-Te**...'' he whispered in surprise, disbelief present on his face. ''If I was supposed to expect you to pull a new weapon out of nowhere, I sure as hell never imagined it would be that one.''

He narrowed his eyes at me. ''So how did you do it? Even though that katana has a deep history with my own it doesn't explain how you were able to stop my most devastating attack.''

''Well one of this sword's properties is its protection against curses. Just before our swords clashed, **Yawarakai-Te** protection took place and neutralized the curse that was strengthening your blade, that's why it didn't shatter on contact or why my body was able to take on the force of the impact. After that it acted as a pillar that blocked the streams of aura that you were using to crush me. ''

It was actually more than that. This weapon had a powerful curse cleansing property, not simply erasing it or cancelling it, but purifying the curse itself.

He placed his palm over his face, a dry snort escaped his mouth. ''So in other words any power up that my weapon gives me was cancelled before it hit. Damn... not only was that my best attack, but it's also very taxing on my body.''

Silence took over the stray, body unmoving, face hidden in his palm. A small snicker could be heard from him. ''Ahahaha! Man talk about anti-climactic.''

I stayed in place and listened to his laughter until he was done, I personally thought that most people would rather call the whole ordeal disappointing than funny.

But I guess each person has his own taste when it comes to what makes them crack a smile.

''Man it's been a while I laughed like that.'' He smiled as his laugh finally died out, a calm and serene look present in his eyes. ''It's a shame we couldn't have met under different circumstances kid. I really like you.''

''This fight between us is something else.'' He took his stance, his arm slightly trembling from the accumulation of wounds. ''It makes me go beyond my limits.''

I prepared my stance for the final exchange, my body heavy and sore, feeling it would shatter from one more strike. And yet I couldn't help but smirk a little. ''Those are some things I can agree on. We might have gotten along had things been different, and I have to thank you.''

He blinked a few times. ''What for?''

''This battle has made me understand my powers, what they do, and how to use them. For that I'm grateful.'' I told him the honest truth. It was after that I used the Include the first time that I've been constantly tried to figure out the powers that it granted me, but with no success.

It was only during intense battle that I slowly understood them, that I slowly grasped the way of using them. It was because he put me on the threshold between life and death that I broke through my limits.

''You're welcome.'' He told me with a small smile, which slowly morphed into an excited smirk. ''But we will be seeing how grateful you are when I take you out!''

We both dashed forward. Kurosaiga movement's appearing more sluggish, mine were slightly sharper. I was smirking to myself that Yawarakai-Te granted the holder a slow healing property against wounds made by cursed nature weapons. While it didn't close my wounds or heal them at a fast rate, it did numb the pain I was feeling from them.

Our blades clashed.

* * *

 **Insert Loop Music- Fate/stay night Realta Nua OST - Mighty Wind**

* * *

With the powers of Yawarakai-Te countering the powers of Juuchi Yosamu, we were currently standing on equal footing. My reinforcement keeping up with his Queen traits.

It all came down to a battle of sword technique.

A swing coming down in a arc, threatening to cut my head. I dodged and tried to stab him in the abdomen. He blocked and forced my sword to my side, taking advantage of the opening he aimed me for my eye.

I felt how it nicked my forehead as I managed to dodge it at the last moment.

I frowned as I tried to return the attack, Kurosaiga blocking me. My eyes twitching as a small spark made by the clash touched the edge of my eye.

My muscles screaming as the pain from the wounds and the exhaustion were raging in them. Dodging blades by the millimetre, no moment to calm down and take a deep breath, my heartbeat and breathing going wild.

Dodging a stab, his sword penetrated the wall. I took the chance to strike him.

He didn't try dodging to the side or bend as he didn't have time. He instead chose to cut the distance between us and head-butt me, pulling his sword from the wall and aiming it at me.

My head still a little dizzy from the bash, I reinforced my legs and jumped upwards, the force taking me a few meters in the air.

He didn't give me any chance to recover and decided to follow me by revealing his devil wings and taking flight after me.

Our sword clashed in the air. A few brief exchanges causing a small rain of sparks from us. Reinforcing my arm muscles to the limit I took a large swing at him, the force strong enough to send him crashing.

A second or two it took him to get up and regroup from the rumble caused by the impact. Just in time for him to block me when I came crashing from above, the weight of my attack causing the ground to crack even further.

Blood escaped through his mouth as he managed to repel me, but at the cost of some of his bones cracking in the process.

I was sent stumbling on the floor, hitting my head at few times in the process. With adrenaline pumping through my veins, the pain was numbed and I got up, rushing back at the stray.

This isn't enough.

This sword isn't enough to beat him.

I could tell. It was all in this swords history.

When I projected it, I didn't just made a copy in shape and substance of the original, I also reproduced its entire history as well. Because of it I can see and imitate any techniques that have been created throughout its existence.

But this is where the problem lies.

After it won in the sharpness test against Juuchi Yosamu, it was presented to the Shogun and it was held by its family for four generation until it reached its limit and shattered.

It was kept more for decorative purposes than for the reason which it was forged. Each owner were proper swordsmen, but they weren't proper warriors and never attempted to reach the utmost limits that this sword could have took them. It was never a weapon that has been used by someone of remarkable skill.

Because of this, the sword technique found within it is sub par, it isn't enough. It may be enough to purify the enemy's curses, but not enough to give me enough skill to give him the decisive blow.

Juuchi Yosamu was once a sword of equal stance, but it was through Kurosaiga's dedication and natural talent that he created a new potential and skills for it.

The swords started from the same point, yet it was only the one held by Kurosaiga that went on and evolved beyond its initial power.

It was ironic actually. The weapon that lost the initial challenge they were put through now stands above the one that defeated it.

Grunting as my previous wounds opened up, all while new ones continued bleeding. I realized that my body was going to give up very soon. I had to end this now. I had to break through my limits once more and end this once and for all!

It was only for a moment, but my vision went static. His image flashed through my mind... dressed in red with Kansho and Bakuya in his hands. He threw the swords backwards, stabbing me.

My eyes widened in shock as I realized just how wrong I've been using the blades.

A plan formed in my mind as I understood the true meaning behind the married blades, about the poem that described them. It was risky, but I was at my limit, I had to bet everything on this last attack.

 _I need more power... I need more swords... I need to project more weapons... I need to trace._

Victory is decided in a split second. Unless I can master it, any strategy is useless.

Opening the valve, I let my magical energy overflow inside of my sword, filling it to the brim.

I discarded all sword technique and skills that were engraved in the sword and decided to do something my enemy probably never saw someone do before. I threw my sword towards him, betting everything on his next move. Kurosaiga was also nearing his limit, appearing surprised by my unexpected move, but not enough to stun him, the man preparing to repel it.

I smirked and began running as he was preparing to strike my new trick.

The moment the swords meet, it detonated in his face. By filling my weapon with magical energy or more simply mana, I turned my weapon into a literal exploding projectile that went off at the smallest impact.

 _Broken Phantasm._

''Ahhhh!'' a suffocated grunt was heard as Kurosaiga face came out of the smoke caused by the sword projectile, his body damaged, but not completely broken as the explosion wasn't too powerful, and it wasn't meant to.

All pieces were now in set. It now came down to this.

'' **Trace on.** ''

Analyze and breakdown every single piece of information about the enemy, his weapon and fighting style. Factor everything and prepare counter measure for all of them.

I must sharpen my senses to their utmost. A single move can prove fatal. A single moment can spell death. Kill off any needless thoughts. The only thing I should be seeing for now is the boundary between life and death. Think ten steps ahead, and seize even five more seconds of survival!

'' **Spirit and technique, flawless and firm.''**

Still running, I traced a copy of Kansho and Bakuya and threw them at the stray, flying sideways towards my confused target. He managed to raise his damaged sword up and deflect Kanshou while stumbling to avoid Bakuya coming from the opposite direction.

'' **Our strength rips the mountains.''**

By understanding that tracing isn't limited to one copy for each object, I traced a second pair of the married blades, throwing them once again. The same pattern took place and Kurosaiga managed to deflect them again.

'' **Our swords split the water.''**

''The hell?!'' His eyes widened and squirmed in his head as he saw that the blades didn't simply get sent flying to the sides, but instead they seemed to circle in the air around him, not only that but the first set of blades he deflected were also included.

'' **Our names reach the imperial villa.''**

Closing the distance between us, holding my hands at my back, I projected the final set of the married blades, but this time I did more than that. Feeding them with my mana, I felt their weight increase as they lengthened and expanded almost double their original size, as they did, cracks and splinters began forming in the blades of the swords, the final product resembling a pair of beautiful crane wings made of black and white steel.

'' **Trace Overedge!''**

'' **The two of us cannot hold the heavens together.''**

Face to face with Kurosaiga I prepared for my final strike. The swords spinning around him responding to the attraction of the swords that I held. This 'attraction' was the true meaning behind the married swords, their strong bond, and their desire to be together returning one to the other no matter the distance or what stands between them.

'' **Two great men, sharing a life!''**

The spinning blades responded to the attraction made by the ones in my hands, changing their trajectory to match that of the Overedged version. A lethal attack of six different swords was formed, one that prohibits escape or defense.

'' **Senkyouka: Kai!** '' Kurosaiga shouted in panic as he understood that he couldn't defend against this attack with regular way and his only salvation was to use the aura of Juuchi Yosama. The moment his aura flared, it seemed to weaken, a mere fragment of his usual output.

''W-What the?!'' he gasped at the sudden occurrence, going pale as he saw the source of this sudden power loss. Small shining fragments of steel buried in his flesh. ''The shards!''

It worked. I understood that the aura of Juuchi Yosamu had enough power to deflect the blades, making the stages of this exquisite technique useless. The only solution was to seal it for a one lethal second.

It was a gamble. I had to bet everything on Kurosaiga shattering the Broken Phantasm version of Yawarakai-Te, and that the remaining fragments of it would get stuck in his body.

The shards wouldn't have been enough to seal the cursed aura with the same efficiency it would have done if I wielded it... but it would have been enough to weaken it for this single moment.

'' **Triple-Linked Crane Wings!** '' I shouted as I poured my remaining strength into my hands and slammed the blades into him just as the other two pairs made contact with him. A loud explosion was heard, the blades shattering completely, sending their broken shards into him, the force causing him to send crashing into the wall as the steel remains shredded his body.

A strangled scream escaped his mouth, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, a small cracking sound lingering as his sword shattered, his body damaged beyond its limits, crashing on the floor with a loud thud. No more moves or sounds were made by him.

It was done... I won... and yet it let a foul taste in my mouth.

* * *

My eyes narrowed at my now still enemy, my body refusing to take a moment of to rest. I was staring at him with utmost concentration, trying to assure myself that it was over.

''Ahhh!'' I let out a painful growl as the adrenaline in my system stopped flowing, the pain of all my wounds invading my mind at the same time, my vision going blurry, blood flowing through the edge of my mouth, my legs going limp and giving up on me.

I felt like shit.

My body tilted to the side and fell. I should have seen it coming, after everything that I went through it would have been impossible for me to simply stand up and walk.

Curiously I heard the sounds of a person running as I was falling down. My tired eyes moved and checked the source.

Before I could understand what was going on, I felt a pair of hands grab my head just a second before it hit the floor.

Huh... the floor was unusually soft. I looked up and saw that I didn't hit the floor.

''Safe!'' Meguri grinned at me as she whipped her forehead with her sleeve. ''Phew! That was a close one Emi-chan!''

I let out a very tired sigh, my body far too tired and sore to move. ''You shouldn't do stunts like that Meguri, you're still injured.'' I noted as the knight held my head on her lap. Dust lingering around us as she just slide her way towards me and caught my head at the last moment. While I should thanks her for catching me, it didn't change the fact that the bones in her shoulder were still pretty much in pieces.

I took a look at the ceiling, the barrier made by Kurosaiga had vanished. At least I know how she managed to get to me.

''Like you're one to talk.'' She playfully flicked my forehead with her finger. ''At least I don't look like I've been sleeping of a bed made out swords.''

''Huh...'' her words made me wonder... just how injured was I?

I took a moment and performed a small structural grasp on myself, blinking a few times as I got the end result. So many wounds that I didn't notice when they were done... I wonder how I'm still alive.

A shadowed towered over me and Meguri, I looked up and was greeted by a strained smile from my fellow pawn.

''You're one crazy guy you know that Emiya?'' Saji with asked as he crouched next to me and Meguri, his face had become more swollen than earlier, though his arm was now in a makeshift sling.

A small smirk formed on my lips. ''Guess I am since everyone keeps telling me that.''

''Make way!'' Hanakai pushed Saji aside and made her towards me, her eyes widening and her face losing color as her eyes checked my body. ''Reya come quick! We need to stop the bleeding!''

When she arrived Kusuka's reaction mirrored Hanakai's, but she seemed far more affected by my appearance, biting her lower lip in hesitation when she looked at me.

''Reya!'' Hanakai snapped at her as she saw her reaction, her voice a mixture of frustration and anger. Her friends scream made her freeze for a moment, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slapping her checks, opening her eyes and joining in helping her fellow bishop in my treatment.

''I'm sorry Emiya, but we have to close the wounds before you bleed out...'' she paused for a moment, I could see hesitation in her eyes. ''We can't start the treatment until we cauterize the wounds.''

So that was the cause. While devils are known for their incredible magical potential, the healing magic used by them is works slowly... far too slow for what I need now. It's one of the reason why phoenix tears are so valuable.

''Just do it.'' I told them with a tired voice, it wasn't like I had much of a choice at the moment.

Both bishops looked at me, then at each other, nodding together. ''Tsubasa-chan, Ruruko-chan hold him down.'' Hanakai asked of our blue haired Rook and our twin tailed Pawn.

''Help them as well Saji.'' Kusaka asked of the blonde Pawn.

I curiously looked at the two bishops, small red magic circles forming on their palms. I noticed Shinra-senpai arrived next to me, a folded piece of cloth in her hand. ''Open up, you will need this.'' She told me with a stoic look, though I could see that she wasn't enjoying what was about to take place.

I did as asked and took the piece of cloth in my mouth, mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Curiously looking at the last person to arrive in front of me.

Looking stoically behind her violet framed glasses. Her lower lip was twitching slightly, as she kneeled next to me, holding my hand in her own despite her broken wrists. Her violet eyes stared in my amber ones, silently waiting.

I understood what she was waiting for, but I couldn't speak since my mouth had the piece of cloth in it, so I simply nodded my head.

My master responded with a similar nod. Her gaze changing towards her trusted bishops. ''Do it.'' She order with a cold voice.

The next moment my mind was attacked by the pain of my flesh burning, my nose twitching from the repulsive smell that followed it, my eyes stared endlessly at the sky peaking through the broken dome, smoke rising from my treatment.

I struggled. It was normal reaction to such a treatment, but it didn't ease the pain, causing more troubles to the others that tried hard to hold me down.

So painful... so repulsive... and yet...

 _So familiar..._

* * *

''That was the last one.'' Hanakai said as she whipped the sweat of her face with her sleeve, the heat generated by her and Kusaka's fire magic warming up the area far too much.

''Finally.'' Kaichou muttered with a sigh, still holding my hand despite all my struggling. ''Begin to the normal treatment now, he needs it.''

Both of the nodded and lifted me up, sitting by the wall and started applying their healing magic on me. Kaichou taking a seat in front of me, placed her palm over my cheek and began pulling it hard to the side.

Ouch! She was really giving it her all at pinching me.

''That was beyond reckless Emiya.'' She started, her voice cold as her stare. ''There are far too many complaints I have about what took place tonight, so don't even think for a second that I will just forget about them.''

''Durry nauted.'' I muttered incoherently as her hand pitching my cheek was ruining my speaking ability.

''All of that aside...'' She whispered with a tired sigh, a small smile forming on her lips as she let go of my cheek and slowly caressed it, her violet orbs softening. ''I'm so happy you're alive Emiya.''

I stared at her for a few moments, my cheek still throbbing from the pain. Slowly my eyes drifted around the people around me, seeing how even though they were all injured, they were all alive. Strangely... I smiled. ''I'm also glad that you guys are ok.''

''All thanks to you buddy!'' Yura chuckled as she messed with my hair, as if I was some kind of dog. Though it wasn't unpleasant. ''The last move was awesome!''

Somehow getting compliment like this made me feel a little awkward, my hand scratching the back of my head. ''I got lucky.'' I admitted dryly, after all it was mostly a gamble.

''Lucky or not, you can't deny that it was a splendid technique.'' Shinra-senpai added her own impression, smiling all to slightly like her master. ''Splendid and deadly. Enough to stop that monster.''

I didn't enjoy her last comment, not when she doesn't know the truth. ''You're wrong... he wasn't a monster.'' I muttered as I stared at our Queen.

She, and everyone else looked at me like I just grew another head. ''How could you say that Emiya after all he did to us?!'' Hanakai asked me flabbergasted.

''Exactly!'' Saji joined in, just as shocked. ''That guy beat the living day out of us, and almost took you out!''

''Emiya.'' Sona cut in, her voice was nothing calm yet had a certain amount of cold in it. ''Please explain to us what do mean by that?''

''I'm going to ask your question with another question.'' I let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. ''Why are you all still alive?''

They were all silent, confusion all but present on their faces. ''Huh?'' Nimura was the first to speak her thoughts.

''You saw how strong he truly was didn't you? You saw how easily he could have killed us didn't you?'' they all nodded slightly at my question. ''Then why didn't he do it?''

Eyes widened in surprise and confusion to my words. ''One would think he held back out of arrogance but that wasn't the case at all. With the exception our master, he didn't wish to kill any of us. Why would he chose to punch and kick you when he could have easily slash you with his blade?''

The silence continued...

''W-Why?'' Kusaka muttered while she rubbed her temples, clearly having a hard time understanding Kurosaiga's reasoning. ''Why would he do all of this?''

''The man had a grudge only against pure-blooded devils. In truth he could empathize with reincarnated devils like us... he didn't want to kill any of us.''

''How could you know this Emiya?'' Saji asked with a frown.

''I saw the truth in his weapon.'' I answered honestly, looking at the remains of his once dangerous sword. ''Many years ago he was part of an old Japanese cult that trained youths to become true swordsmen's. Juuichi Yosamu was a treasure of the temple he was lived and trained at, a weapon never meant to be used, and yet it somehow responded to him, something that never happened before. The people of the temple were stunned as he was able to wield it without succumbing to it bloodlust. He became its first true wielder.''

''Little did he know that rumours travel fast and they can reach to the wrong ears.'' I said bitterly as I continued. ''One day he left the temple for some errands... but when he came back everyone at the temple he knew and cared about was dead... blood and black feathers everywhere he could see.''

Their expressions darkened as they listened, I went on. ''Struck by grief, anger, and confusion. He broke down and cried.''

''It was then when he was most vulnerable that a woman approached him. Telling him that the fallen angels were responsible, that she could help find the ones that killed his comrades and that she could help him gain the strength to enact his vengeance.'' My eyes drifted towards the corpse of the said man. ''All in exchange for becoming her Queen.''

My master's face grew pale, the shock of realizing who i was talking about. ''...The heir of the Barbatos house at that time.''

I slowly nodded. ''Blinded by emotion he believed her every word, he placed his trust in her and accepted her offer. As years went by he dedicated himself to her, training to his limits, wining Rating Games in her name, never questioning her.''

''Until he learned the truth.'' I frowned strongly, placing a hand over my forehead. ''He was just passing by and noticed his master with his other peerage members. It was after a party and his master drunk far too much that she could take as she started blabbering to her other pieces about she acquired her Queen.''

''When she heard of such a rare individual she couldn't have let such an opportunity fly by. So she staged a way to gain his loyalty, using her influence and power she killed the temple members and made it looked like the fallen angels were to blame, appearing like a savior and offering him what he desired.''

''When he heard the truth, the sadistic laugh of the woman he placed his faith in, about how stupid he was and how easy it was to trick him, something broke in him...'' I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the intense stares of the people waiting for me to continue the story. ''Blinded by unfiltered rage he killed her and the other peerage members that stood in his way.''

There was silence in the room, the faces of the people surrounding me morphing into bitter and pity filled looks.

''It's so w-wrong.'' Kusaka muttered with a broken tone, clearly feeling sympathy for the stray.

''Sad isn't it?'' I whispered as I stared at the moon peeking through the hole in the dome. ''And you haven't heard the worst part.''

Everyone's eyes widened in fear at my words, yet I could see that they were expecting the rest. ''T-There's more?'' Nimura asked half-scared.

''He loved her.'' I stated stoically. ''During the years that he served under her, he stared developing feelings for his master. At first it was admiration, then he started feeling attracted to her, and in the end he fell in love with her. In fact he would have even given up on his vendetta for her sake.''

''What the hell!?'' Saji snapped, kicking the wall in frustration, clearly the revelation of Kurosaiga's past made him feel bitter about how things ended. ''That's just messed up! After all that he went through why did it have to turn out like!?''

''I have to agree with Saji on this...'' Yura muttered melancholic. ''He clearly was still sane, a bit emotionally unstable, but sane. He wasn't some power drunk monster like how most stray devils are. He was a victim... and yet it ended like this.''

Hanakai looked to the side, her eyes showing pity for the man that she fought earlier. ''If we would insisted in talking some sense into him... do you think things would have turned different?''

''No.'' I answered to her, gaining the attention once more of the group. ''He was broken... even if wanted to go back it was too late. The man that was once Ichirou Kurosaiga was long gone.''

''It doesn't make the situation less tragic.'' Shinra-senpai commented as she stared at the corpse of the former stray. ''If he lost everything and was broken beyond repair... why did he even go on?''

''Perhaps his warrior pride kept him from ending his days... or maybe he just wanted to find someone to put him out of his misery?'' I reflected as I remembered his look when his final breath escaped his lips. ''To have one final battle before he put his sword down.''

''How can you be so sure about this Emiya?'' My master asked me with a puzzled look.

''When he realized that the last attack destroyed his heart along with a majority of his internal organs... he smiled.'' I answered them as i recalled the look on his face, although his body was going through pain i can't even begin to imagine, he had such a peaceful smile. ''Even though he understood that he lost and that he was about to die, he accepted it, and was glad.''

My eyes drifted to the side and stared at the air. ''I know it's wrong. I know that its the worst outcome for him... and yet it's also the one brought peace to him.''

Sluggishly, I managed to get up from my seat and slowly walk towards the corpse the man that I fought so desperately. Even though he was dead... his face never appeared so at peace as it did now.

''Truth be told I'm an atheist, so maybe it isn't my place to say it but...'' I whispered slowly to him as I placed my palm over his lifeless eyes, gently closing them. ''Rest in peace, Ichirou Kurosaiga.''

 _That day I understood how the world wasn't as simple as I thought._

* * *

 _He sat alone._

 _Like he always did._

 _Sitting on top of the hill of swords._

 _The wind blowing through his red mantle, his steel filled eyes gazing upon the endless horizon, a stoic expression present on his tanned face._

 _He turned around and slowly walked through the field of lonely weapons._

 _Passing them one by one he made his way without a clear destination in his mind, he simply walked. As he did, he glanced at each weapon in his sight at least once._

 _He stopped walking, his gaze hardened as he started starring at the smog filled sky. The gears which hanged in it slowly spinning._

 _''So that makes three..'' he muttered to himself, the edge of his eyes taking starring at the endless field of weapons surrounding him. ''How long will it be before he claims all of them?''_

 _Archer took a deep breath as he started walking back to the summit of the hill, his mantle dancing violently in the wind. ''And when that truly happens... will he be the same?''_

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Wow...'' Taiga muttered as she finished reading the chapter. ''So Ray actually kept his promise and used a noble phantasm idea provided by one of the readers... didn't expect that.''

''How so?'' Miyu tilted her head confused.

''Well he did say he can use Noble Phantasm ideas from the readers, but that was a while ago and the people stopped sending him ideas probably because they didn't see any of the suggestions being used, so naturally I thought he won't do it after all. ''

''How could he do it since this was the first chapter where Onii-chan finally understood how to project?'' Illya tried to throw in some arguments.

''Does that mean that he will use other weapon ideas sent by fans?'' Miyu asked.

''I think he will, as long as the sent him some interesting ones. What you think?'' Illya asked Taiga who was munching on tea cookies.

''Don't ask me.'' Taiga shrugged her shoulders. ''I have no idea how Ray plans to write things.''

''Hope he gives us some screen time.'' Illya muttered with a dark cloud raining over her.

''Don't worry Illya, I peeked in Ray-san office when he fell asleep at his desk and saw that he plans something, and I quote 'really sweet' for you.'' Miyu informed her friend.

''...Somehow that scares me very much.'' the white haired girl shivered in fear.

''Just shut up and do your thing.'' Taiga growled.

''Stay tuned for the next chapter.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **Special thanks to UltimateFanJob123 - Beta 27 for providing the idea for this Noble Phantasm**

 **Yawarakai-Te-** Tender Hands

Type: Passive Anti-Unit

Rank: C-C+

Forged in a contest between Masamune and his student Muramasa, Yawarakai-Te is a blade of exceptional sharpness, said to be able to cut through anything. However, the blade will not cut the innocent or infirm, and will merely phase through the one cut if they are. The blade can also heal to a limited extent, but only those who have never committed any wrong.

The blade of the sword contains a powerful concept of 'cutting' making it able to cut through materials of great resistance such as diamonds, with the same ease it would if it were cut through leafs.

The concept doesn't work on magically enhanced materials and objects, but the sword still retains an unworldly sharpness, however the concept and all of swords sharpness is lost if it's used against someone it deems innocent, the edge of the blade turning into the dullest piece of steel ever. While it may not cut through anything this way, it could still be used as blunt weapon and smash it into enemies like a baseball bat

The sword true strength lies in its spiritual cleansing properties, acting as a protective charm against cursed weapons, purifying the very curses that are surging out of them, but also grants the user a small regeneration factor against wounds by made by cursed weapons.

Due to its intimate history with Juuchi Yosamu, when used against its rival in legend, Yawarakai-Te rank increases.

* * *

 **Juuchi Yosamu** \- 10,000 cold nights

Type: Passive Anti-Unit

Rank: E-? (D+ while wielded by Ichirou Kurosaiga)

Forged in a contest between Muramasa and his mentor and rival Masamune, Juuchi Yosamu is a blade of incredible sharpness, said to be able to cut through anything. However, the blade will cut things that it shouldn't cut, injuring allies and even the user itself if used by an unappropriated person.

The blade contains a powerful curse born from Sengo Muramasa's desire to create a sword that can cut through anything. Due to this curse the sword can cause air pressure slashes by simply waving it even a little. The sword doesn't necessarily crave blood like how legends portray it, but rather it feeds of negative emotions, growing far more power in response to the user negative emotions. If the user doesn't have any to feed it, it instills a powerful blood lust in the user so it will go on blood stained rampage and make sure it is feed with negative emotion

Depending on how strong the negative emotions are, the swords overall power can either raise or drop. Should it be used by a being that is a vast source of negative emotion its rank can risen by a large number.(If it were used for instance by an Avenger-class servant, the minimum rank that it would attain is A)

The nature of its aura isn't a pre-existing one, but rather it gains certain characteristic depending on the type of emotion within the user. The aura can be manipulated and used in a variety of ways, suiting the users fighting style and personality.

In Ichirou Kurosaiga's case its aura gains a small shivering effect, causing the enemies to experiences sensations akin to shivering caused by cold. He can also manipulated the aura and let it explode around him, to repel enemies, but also he can shape it into slash strikes and use it against enemies.

Forms developed by Ichirou Kurosaiga (both forms require the user to possess demonic energy in order to be used):

 ***Senkyouka** -Thousand Rising Evils

Type: Anti-Unit, Anti-Army

Rank: D-C

A technique that fuses the cursed aura of Juuchi Yosamu together with the demonic energy of the user, creating a hybrid cursed-demonic aura. Increasing the overall physical abilities of the user.

The aura can be used as a concentrated stream of cursed-demonic energy, released as wave/slash attack, which flies in the direction pointed with the sword. It is a powerful technique with great force, creating large-scale damage and destruction. The overall destructive ability increases the more demonic energy is poured inside the blade, but feeding the blade to much energy at once may cause the stream to go out of control and even explode in the user's face, so delicacy is required when using it.

* **Senkyouka: Kai** -Thousand Rising Evils: Release

Type: Anti-Unit

Rank: C++

A stronger variation of the normal Senkyouka. Instead of letting the aura explode and use as attack waves, the user lets the aura envelop him and concentrates a vast amount of power in the sword, strengthening all his physical attributes for a very powerful draw attack. When the sword makes contact with the enemy, all of the stored up energy is released and rushes over the target like a raging tsunami, destroying everything in its path.

As strong as the power increase is, it must be used with caution as it could completely empty the owner's demonic energy, losing the power-up itself.

Kurosaiga Ichirou chants a small verse before releasing it.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well that's a wrap. Now you see why i split it in two parts. While i do think that readers enjoy a stuffed chapter so to say 25000 words are too much in my opinion for a single chapter.**

 **While it was a bit at the limit i managed to keep my promise and post this chapter within a weeks time.**

 **I would like to say my thanks to my beta Shadow of Life for managing to check it on such a short time schedule.**

 **This is my first time writing an OC character so I hope I didn't screwed up to bad.**

 **I really wanted to make Shirou understand his powers and how to use them by the time the canon parts of the story starts. So for that we will have some un-canon or off-screen events that could have happened for Shirou to power up so to say.**

 **While it may be cool to make Shirou go all rain of swords on enemies, wouldn't it be cooler to show how he reaches that point?**

 **I think we all can appreciate how Shirou in each route starts as an incompetent, but by the end of the route he learns to better himself and develop skills that can make stand up to servants. So i'm trying something similar.**

 **Now to get to clear something before people start biting my head off. Regarding how i made Shirou execute the 'Triple-Linked crane wings' or more commonly known as 'Crane wings three realms', before you go and say that the way i wrote it is wrong and its different, let me point out a fact, that its a flexible technique, not a fix one.**

 **Its not exactly the execution of the technique itself, but rather the idea behind it, the strategy of creating a multiple number of simultaneous attacks so that the enemy can't defend. So the execution method changes depending on what kind of opponent the user is facing.**

 **That's why canon Shirou, Archer and Kuro all have different versions of the technique. It is basically the same thing, but the way they each execute it differs.**

 **From what i get from the wiki, this technique got Archer out of a lot of nasty fights. Plus it killed freaking Berserker once in the 2006 Deen anime of FSN.**

 **Speaking of Berserker, hope people won't flame me for using his visual novel scream for the skull aura thing. I thought that maybe using it instead of using stuff like 'GHYAAAAAA!' or 'HRAAAAAAAA' would be more interesting.**

 **Btw you can now follow me on Twitter at** **RobyB993. Funny thing i made an account a couple of years to check it out. I didn't really like it so i stopped using it. Only recently i started using it again.**

 **Any Tokyo Ghoul:RE readers here? For those of you who are, let us all give a small toast to Kaneki Ken and Touka Kirishima for graduating from their virginity and for the sail of the sail. Surprisingly the way their relationship escalated seemed way more natural than how most anime/manga relationships do.**

 **Huh... Funny thought... Many and I mean many main lead male characters in stories are blessed with harems or a incredible love interest and never f*ck anything, then we have Kaneki Ken who was very much f*cked by life (and Jason if that messed up theory proves true) and look how he ended in CH.125 of TG:RE.**

 **Ishida Sui. You have my respect... or at least you have it until you do something really f*cked up to Kaneki and Touka, i know you will do it.**

 **About next chapter... i'm not sure when i will post it to be honest. With the start of June second exam session starts... God dammit.**

 **So chances are that it will be a little slow on update, but lets hope it won't last like it did for Ch. 5. Though next chapter doesn't have any fighting so i shouldn't drag on like i did last time.**

* * *

 **Lets answer some reviews:**

 **-ChaosSilver: I will just leave that to your imagination.**

 **-** **DeathTheManiac: Thank you so much. Your words almost made me shed a tear.**

 **-Takei Daloui: Its a matter of the type of battle scene this was. It was basically 1v1 sword fight, so i had a bit of difficulties writing it since with canon Archer and Shirou they can spam weapons against enemies. So i had some small doubts regarding how it turned out in the end.**

 **Yeah i can see that. About the sacred gear, while not wanting to spoil, if i will do it, i will give him a support one, not an assault one.**

 **Well i did promise so i had to deliver. It a matter of principle.**

 **-Kazuni Kiba: For now i need to make Shirou figure how his powers work, about how he can improve them will come afterwards. Lets just say this EMIYA has some secrets himself, and he has some reason behind his rather uncharacteristic behavior.**

 **-DPSS: Thanks. Well as you can see in this chapter he just began taking the first step into tracing. About him flying, don't worry i have an idea that covers that little problem**

 **-Darkstar01FTW: It wouldn't be surprising to see some resemblance between them, i did take some inspiration from it. Besides this was a pure sword fight, so it mostly resumed to swordsmanship.**

 **-Mizushi Kugurugi: I'm not that crazy.**

 **-dragonsword1000: At the moment Shirou is at unpredictable factor level. As the story progresses he will reach the 'Names that you need to run from' level.**

 **-Dark Durian: While the idea itself isn't a bad one, with how people can be picky about stuff the would say i'm pulling an Hollow Ichigo or a cloaked Naruto moment.**

 **-xbox432: I do have a beta, but its difficult to spot every error in it, especially since a chapter i write has over 10000 words. And believe me, my beta does a good job. English isn't my main language, so there are a lot of grammar errors that i make and don't notice even after rereading the chapter a couple of times.**

 **Don't worry. I don't plan** **to involve anyone of Issei harem girls with Shirou. Well maybe with the exception of- WAIT I CAN'T GIVE SPOILERS!**

 **-TheCasualReader: Depends how you look at it. If its a assault type sacred gear it would be pretty useless to Shirou, but what if its a support type?**

 **-The Rupture: Well that's what you think. The story is actually much popular than GDXD was when it was this early in the story line.**

 **-Lsilver19: That chapter was meant to be a little mixed, since this one was a bit sad. By a little mix of both, i will try to build up the relationships similar to fate style, but also keep the harem elements from dxd. You will see as the story progresses.**

 **-TheLaughingStalk no.9 Large: Perhaps i'm finally grasping the true nature of cliffhangers.**

 **-The Impossible Muffin: Huh... now that you mention it, i am doing that. And here i was trying to make some 'lols' with a little self bashing.**

 **-Hammer Time: That's actually one of the ideas i'm working with. Giving rather obscure and minor characters the chance to shine.**

 **-vinayakdj1: Was it really that brutal? Huh... hope your friend got better.**

 **-Drake22: To answer your curiosity, if i do end up giving Shirou a SG, it won't be an offensive one, but a support one. And since Shirou and Archer can turn a butter knife into a deadly weapon, you can only imagine that he will find new ways to use it.**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	7. Untold stories I

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _At first there was something that kept me from trusting them._

 _Was it because they were devils?_

 _Was it that I couldn't properly trust people?_

 _I just couldn't do it at first._

 _But... little by little I learned to open up to them._

 _It was the small meaningless stuff that made me reach out to them._

 _And I eventually learned..._

* * *

 **Chapter 7:**

 **Untold stories I**

* * *

 _The halls around me were dark. I woke up a few minutes ago and went for a little midnight trip to the toilet. It's been a few days since I moved in this house together with my new family and I was slowly getting used to my new life. A new father, a new mother, a new sister, a new aunt, and a pair of maid twins._

 _When I finished my trip to the bathroom I simply tried to go back to my room and go back to sleep, if not for a light coming from down stairs that got my attention._

 _My curiosity getting the better of me, I carefully tip towed my way around so I could see who was still awake this late in the night. Trying not to get caught red handed, I slowly pressed my head against the railing of the staircase and listened to what was going on._

'' _Are you sure this was the best choice Kiritsugu-sama?'' a woman whispered to my new dad apparently, judging by the voice it was one of the maids of the house, Sella-san. I wonder what she was talking about._

'' _Then pray tell what was the best choice?'' the tone in my new dad's voice was different from his usual one, this one was cold, serious, and very bitter. ''You know very well what happened that day. While we were able to disable it, the repercussions that followed were uncontrollable. So many people died that day... when they were supposed to be saved. ''_

'' _I understand that very well, but you need to stop accusing yourself for what happened.'' She tried to reason with him, her voice a mixture of sadness and regret. ''We just didn't have enough time to investigate things properly, to factor any potential aftereffects.''_

'' _However that isn't what I was referring to.'' She stopped for a moment, as if collecting her thoughts. ''You already saved the boy's life, why go all the way and adopt him?''_

 _Wait... are they talking about me?_

 _I felt somewhat awkward as I heard her words. Truth be told ever since the first time I met her I had the distinct impression that Sella-san wasn't too happy to have me around, in fact she seemed very cautions with me._

'' _Guilt perhaps?'' a bitter laugh came along his tired sigh. ''He was the only one I could save, just one single boy that lost everything in that fire.''_

'' _But why... bring him... with us?'' another voice cut in, the only person I knew who had troubles talking and had such a monotone tone was Leysritt-san. Unlike her sister, she seemed rather neutral about my presence in this house, though it was hard to tell what she was thinking with that perfect poker face of hers._

 _There was nothing but a heavy silence in the room until he answered. ''That day when everything started falling apart all around us, we had two choices. Either take him with us or leave him there and get captured by the enforcers and executors. If that were indeed the case, he would probably have ended up interrogated to death by them.''_

 _My new father figure's words made me freeze in place. Enforcers? Executors? Death?_

'' _That's... bad.'' Leysritt stuttered comment brought me back to reality. Ever since I met her she always seemed to have a problem when it came to communicating. Iri-san said that it was a matter of language barrier, though I didn't buy it. She spoke Japanese fluently, but she somehow would 'block' when she was talking, so that couldn't be it._

'' _Now that you mention it Sella.'' Kiritsugu-san got the attention of the white haired maid. ''You've seemed rather adamant against the idea of Shirou living with us. Any reason for that?''_

'' _I'm worried how his presence will affect Illyasviel-sama's well being.'' She slowly explained after a few moments of silence. ''He is just a commoner and-''_

'' _Sella.'' He stopped her, his voice the same calm tone but with a somewhat whip to it. '' We are no longer the people who we once were. Titles, fame, past, heritage, names, we left them all behind, and perhaps its better this way, starting everything from scratch.''_

 _He let out a long tired sigh, a heavy silence filling the room as he contemplated his next words. ''One of the few wishes I had was for my daughter to live a normal life. Such a thing was impossible before, but now she has a chance. So having a normal brother may be a good start.''_

'' _He isn't exactly a normal child after what he went through.'' Sella-san remarked with a somewhat sympathetic tone._

'' _He may seem a little awkward, but he's a good kid.'' He sighed tiredly. ''Plus the moment Iri decided to claim him as our new son the deal was already sealed regardless of my opinion.''_

'' _A-Ah, yes. Irisviel-sama can be rather convincing once she decides on something.'' The stricter maid replied somewhat nervous. ''She certainly was adamant to make me and Liz give up of our maid uniforms... claiming that they were old fashioned.''_

'' _Scary...''_

 _A somewhat scared yet at the same time amused chuckle escaped his lips. ''You have it easy... I'm the one married to her.''_

 _I could hear my heart beating from the silence that took place in the room. ''...Perhaps I'm not giving you the proper respect you deserve Kiritsugu-sama.''_

 _Slowly getting up, I walked to my room, closing the door behind me, resting my body against it, clearing my mind while trying to understand what they just talked about. Just what was my new family involved in before they adopted me?_

 _And just how was I involved?_

* * *

My eyes slowly cracked open, starring sluggishly at the unfamiliar ceiling above me.

Just what was that dream?

For some reason I've been having all kinds of weird dreams recently, mostly remembering only small bits of them by the time I woke up, and yet this one was different.

No... It wasn't just a dream. It was a memory from my first days together with my new family. Now that I think about it, even though I lived together with them for ten years or so, I don't really know much about my family's past.

It never really bothered me in any way up until now because I didn't think it mattered all that much... but now I'm beginning to think otherwise. There are many things that I don't know about the people who raised me... but exactly how much am I in the dark about?

I slowly tried to pick myself up and see where I was, regretting it the next moment.

''Uhh...'' a strained groan escaped my mouth as I tried lifting myself up, a ragging headache hitting me like a hammer, followed by a dull lingering pain in most of my muscles every time I moved them. My hand reached for my head, a lonely thought wondering through it. ''Man, if feeling hangover is anything similar to this, I'm sure as hell not touching any alcohol any time soon.''

A shift in the sheets that covered me got my attention, sitting under them right next to me was a person with blonde hair. ''Keep it down will you, I'm trying to sleep.''

''Saji?'' I tilted my head as I recognized the grumpy voice. ''What are you doing in my bed?''

He turned around and looked at me, a tired droopy look present on his face. ''First of all, this is a couch, not a bed. Second, this is Kaichou's not yours.''

His answer made me take a better look around myself, noticing the unfamiliar living room. ''Where are we?''

He lifted himself up and rested his body against the couch arm, his left hand covered in a white cast hanging still in a sling around his neck. ''At Kaichou and Shinra-senpai's house.''

I curiously narrowed my eyes around the unfamiliar location, now that he mentions it I never knew where Kaichou or Shinra-senpai lived, let alone know that they live together. ''So this is their house?''

He yawed tiredly, putting his good hand over his mouth. ''Yeah, apparently the two of them have been living together for a while. At least this answers why they always leave and come to school together.''

''Ok...'' I somewhat nodded, it was rather interesting to learn new things about the people you knew. ''But why are _we_ here?''

A confuse stare was what he gave me for a handful of seconds, his eyes widening slightly afterwards. ''Oh right... you passed out right after you gave Kurosaiga that little farewell, blood loss and exhaustion I guess.'' He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Now that I think about it, after I closed Kurosaiga's eyes I lost any strength I had left in my legs and fell down, everything going dark the next moment. Guess that battle exhausted me more than I thought. ''Well everyone was exhausted and most of us couldn't just go home looking like we just got out of a car crash. So Kaichou decided for us to bunk here for the night.''

Hmm... That was actually a well thought idea. No doubt that any parent would freak out if their child came back home with broken bones and deep stab wounds, so all of us spending the night here, tending our wounds and thinking of some explanation to give was a good move. ''So everyone's here?''

He nodded lightly. ''Pretty much.''

Although he said that, I couldn't help but notice that there was only me and him here. ''Was there even enough space for all of us?''

''Somewhat, we are lucky this house has three bedrooms. Hanakai and Kusaka in one room, Meguri, Yura and Nimura in the second, and Kaichou and Shinra-senpai in the last.'' He drifted his eyes towards the ceiling, a small annoyed scowl forming on his face. ''And as you can see we boys had to sleep on the couch, classic.''

I stared at him for a couple of moments, was there any reason to be annoyed about it? ''I don't see the what problem is, the couch is actually comfortable.''

He stared at me silently for a few moments, opening his mouth a couple of times to talk but stopping every time. He put his good palm over his face, a loud and tired sigh following. ''You don't have any male imagination do you?''

''Whatever you say...'' I muttered, still confused by what he meant by that, my eyes focusing on the cast he had on. ''How is your arm?''

He took a second and stared at the mentioned arm, a small bitter scowl forming on his face. ''Better, but still hurts a lot. While I did get medical attention you know how devil healing is slow and all, so serious stuff like broken bones require more time to heal, and since I can't have them constantly healing me I have to do consecutive healing sessions before my bones fully heal.''

''I see...'' I whispered as I contemplated for a few seconds. While I'm no expert orthopedic matters, I think it takes weeks before bones heal naturally, even months in more severe cases. So considering that Saji and the others are getting a little help in their healing thanks to magic, they may heal faster. Maybe a week or so before they are back at full strengh.

''What about you?'' he broke me out of my thoughts, starring intensely at my chest area and my arms, both of which I noticed were covered quite a large number of bandages. ''Your bones may have been still in one piece but you got cut and slashed so much you almost bleed to death.''

I lightly stretched my body, while the bandages were indeed restricting my movements, everything else seemed ok. ''I guess I'm fine... a little sore and tired, but overall I feel fine.''

''You're one tough guy you know that?'' Saji chuckled lightly after a few minutes of silence. ''After getting slashed like that the first time, you managed to get back up and defeat Kurosaiga by yourself.''

''Most of it was dumb luck.'' I admitted with a dry sigh, somewhat not enjoying where this conversation was going. ''The only reason I won was because he wasn't serious from the very beginning. He dragged the fight long enough for me to figure out how my powers work, and come up with a strategy to beat him.'' I narrowed my eyes to my bandaged palms, a small throb running through them as I recalled our intense battle. ''And in the end it all came down to a single mistake Kurosaiga made, without all of these things I would have been dead.''

''You say that but you still defeated him.'' The blond pawn commented with a displeased face, clearly not understanding the reason of my distaste for how things turned out in the end.

I sighed bitterly as I starred at the ceiling. ''It's not that I'm complaining that I won, it's a matter of long term things. It may have worked this time, but in the future I might not get so lucky.''

That was half the truth. I actually wished there was another way to have ended that battle without anyone having to die. I knew it the moment i saw the truth in his blade, he was a man walking down a self destructive path. He didn't want salvation, he just wanted someone to end his pain.

I know that killing him was what he wanted and what had to be done in order to prevent other people from dying by his hand.

...But i still didn't like it.

''Whatever.'' He turned his back to me and put the blanket back on him. ''I'm going back to sleep.''

After staring at him for a few moments I decided to follow suit, turning around on my side of the couch, sleeping sounded very tempting right now. ''Sweet dreams.''

''That sounds very wrong coming from a guy.'' I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was feeling rather creeped by my choice of words, maybe i could have formulated that better. He shifted rather violently after a couple of minutes of silence. ''Hey Emiya?''

''Yeah?''

He didn't answer at first, a veil of awkwardness hanging above us. ''...Thanks.''

My eyebrows rose up in confusion. ''For what?''

''For saving me... for saving all of us.'' He whispered to me in a soft tone, genuine gratitude present in his words, something I never experienced from the usual interaction between us.

Perhaps I was feeling a bit awkward myself, my hand reaching for the back of my head scratching it lightly. ''I only did what I had to do.''

''No seriously... I'm really grateful. You protected me even though I acted like prick to you.'' he stated with a slow voice, regret present for in it for all the times the two of us bickered. ''... You know what, forget it. Just go back to sleep.''

If I was expecting anything unusual happening first thing I woke up today, this certainly wasn't one of them. Ever since I met Saji there always was this little static between us, while I didn't have anything personal against the guy, he always displayed this animosity for me, so our relationship was always a little on the edge. And yet here he is, thanking me. My eyes closed slowly, feeling more relaxed than before.

''You're welcome.''

* * *

I stared at the ceiling above me without any specific purpose, my right eye twitching all too slightly. 'Go back to sleep' he said... kinda hard when _someone_ is snoring so loud that it puts chainsaws to shame.

I looked at the previously mentioned snoring nightmare for moment, nothing present besides a relaxed face without a care in the world. It's in moments like this, everyday normal things that I tend to forget that Saji and the others aren't human anymore, but devils.

I sometimes tend to forget that they give up their humanity.

Perhaps that's why I never truly tried to get involved with the people of the peerage itself.

In my case it was more of not having a choice of matter, it was either damnation of my soul or death. But what about them? What made them join the girl known as Sona Sitri? Was it out of their own volition? Did they somehow die and got resurrected afterwards?

Or were they somehow tricked like Kurosaiga?

I shook my head at that thought, i shouldn't think about stuff like that, let alone consider it. A part of me didn't want to believe it, but I couldn't deny the potential of that possibility, not after I saw Kurosaiga's past through Juuchi Yosamu.

I didn't want to believe it... but just what did I know about Sona Sitri?

The person I knew before I became a devil wasn't her, but rather it was Souna Shitori, the persona she adopted to integrate between humans. Just how much of the mask she is wearing at school is the same as what's beneath it?

They are a few, but there are some small differences between how she acts in human public, and how she acts in private when she is surrounded by her fellow devils. Small things like the tone she talks, the way her body seems more relaxed, even the very air around seemingly changing.

Just how much of it was real?

Was this the reason why I've been somewhat distant to her since I learned the truth? Was it because they are devils that I don't really involve myself with them on anything but a professional level?

Was it normal for me to act this way when I'm supposed to be one of them?

When i'm also supposed to be a devil?

''Oh, man...'' I slowly whispered to myself as I covered my eyes with my hand. ''Just when did I become such a cynical guy?''

 _Sniff_

Huh...?

Ok... that doesn't smell right at all.

I turned around to the loud snoring machine and proceeded to tap him on the back. ''Saji! Hey Saji!''

He didn't answer me immediately and shifted in his sleep, letting out a loud and tired growl. ''Five more minutes...''

Deciding not to give up I further insisted, increasing the rate and power of my tapping. ''Come on! Wake up!''

Clearly reaching his limit, he raised himself up in a swift motion. A rather annoyed stare directed towards me. ''What?!''

I gestured to the air around us, getting a confused stare from him. ''Is that smoke I'm smelling?''

''What are you-'' he stopped his reply when his nose twitched slightly, his annoyance reducing, and getting replace by a curious stare. ''Hey you're right, but where is it coming fr-''

 _Boom!_

The sudden explosion got both of us on the edge, revealing to us the location the a possible threat.

''The kitchen!'' Saji shrieked as he jumped out of the bed, heading towards the said kitchen with me right behind him, with me mentally preparing for the possibility of an enemy attack.

When I entered the kitchen I felt as if I swallowed a chunk of ice. The kitchen looked like a bomb exploded in it, so many leftover ingredients on the table, dishware's scattered everywhere, some thick liquid dripping off the table, the stove covered in a foam looking substance, a thick and nasty smelling smoke lingering in the air.

Dear God... Just who could abuse a kitchen in such a horrible way?

The answer to my question came when I saw the white haired person jumping from one place to another in front of the stove. ''All I did was turn around for a minute, how could this happen?!''

I narrow my eyes curiously at the girl that was scratching her head wildly, surprising me by the fact that her hair was fine and wasn't going out in a wild blaze considering the amount of friction she was applying. ''Hanakai?''

''Kyahh!'' she yelped nervously, body freezing in place, her head slowly turning around towards us like a rusted piece of machinery. ''Emiya...Saji...''

The blonde pawn sitting next to me stared at her with half-lidded eyes, clearly having a hard time understanding what may have happened here. ''What are doing Hanakai? Trying to burn down the house or something?''

It was the first time I saw her in normal clothes, nothing fancy, just a pair of green shorts and simply teal t-shirt, but still it was different from what I was used to. A bright blush formed in her cheeks, her eyes drifting left and right, waving her hands in front of her in a defensive manner. ''N-No I w-was trying... y-you know...'' as she was stuttering around, the sound of something sizzling got our attention. When we all looked at the pot on the stone, it was violently overflowing its contents outside like a volcano. ''Kyahh!'' The white haired bishop didn't seem to take it very well.

''How about you explain after we stop this place from exploding?'' I sighed tiredly, my hand pitching the bridge of my nose. This really wasn't the way I wanted to start a new day.

* * *

After the potential catastrophe in the kitchen was somehow averted, and we managed to somewhat clean the majority of the aftermath of Hanakai's cooking attempt, the three of us took a seat at the table and decided to find just what in the devil's unholy name happened.

''Well?'' Saji narrowed his eyes at the white haired bishop that was sitting in front of us, the said girl apparently avoiding eye contact with both me and Saji.

''Well...'' she repeated awkwardly, a sweat drop dripping on her face, an expression that was pretty much saying 'I have no idea why you're looking at me like that' was all too present.

I decided to step in the already awkward conversation. ''Well what were you doing here Hanakai?''

She opened her mouth but didn't respond, looking to the side, then trying again. She repeated this cycle a couple of times before letting out a sigh of defeat. ''Fine... I thought that since I was the least injured one I could try and prepare breakfast for everyone.''

''Oh...'' I nodded as I took a closer look at her face, or more precisely at the bandages tied around her head. While she didn't get her bones broken like Saji, or got stabbed like me, she did get her head smashed against the wall pretty badly. While not as serious as the others, it was still a rather painful injury and head injuries can are much more serious than a broken limp, she still needs her rest. However it does say a lot about her, trying to cook even though she is like this... Something i actually can relate to.

''Seems like it isn't going to well.'' Saji remarked with half lidded eyes, triggering a small urge in me to punch him for talking without considering Hanakai's feelings.

Huh... for a moment I thought I saw a huge arrow pierce through her, causing her to laugh awkwardly as her lower lip was twitching. ''Not really... my mom usually takes care of the cooking back home, so this the first time I actually tried to cook by myself.''

I felt kinda sorry for her. She tried her best to make us breakfast, but she clearly lacking in some cooking skills judging by how many ingredients were cut in a weird manner and how many plates and utensils were used randomly.

After a few seconds of deliberating, I got up from my seat and scanned the kitchen for a certain item. Finding my target I walked to the door and took it. While it wasn't my style to use a random apron, it was better than nothing. Glancing over to the confused bishop I offered her a reassuring smile. ''...Well it's kind of late for breakfast, so how about we all try and make lunch?''

She didn't respond immediately and blinked a couple of times. A bright smile forming on her face as she got up from her seat and walked next to me. ''Sure!''

''Don't count on me, I'm short on one hand.'' Saji remarked, holding up his encased arm to further emphasize his little problem. ''Besides, I can't even boil water without burning it.''

I looked at him as he made his way out of the kitchen, judging by his yawning he is probably going back for an extra few minutes of sleep.

Ignoring Saji I made my way to the fridge to see what I can work with, guess its better that he left since I wouldn't have asked a person recovering to help me out. Hanakai is an exception, while I can't make her do any of the difficult cooking, she can help with some light prep work, nothing difficult or demanding.

After starring at the fridge contents for a minute, I started thinking of my options. However, before I make any decision I went and check the pantry and the upper drawers for any spices or ingredients.

I stood in place for a few minutes, thinking of what I could cook with the ingredients at hand, but also for it to be consistent and in a large quantity so that everyone will get a good meal.

I flicked my fingers as I came up with a good solution. ''Let's make beef stew.'' I told Hanakai as I started gathering everything I needed. When everything was at hand I took started cutting the beef into small chunks.

When I finished I placed them in a bowl and passed them to Hanakai who staring at me with a awe filled stare, my action waking her up from her little daze. ''Would you be kind and season these?''

She stared for a few seconds, nodding vigorously when she took the bowl. ''R-Right away! What should I add to them?''

I smiled as I saw that she was ready to help me out. ''Salt, pepper and table spoon of flour. Mix them well so all the pieces of meat are evenly coated.''

She nodded and followed my instruction, very carefully adding everything so she doesn't add too much. I got back to my side and proceeded to slice carrots and chop onions and garlic.

''Say, doesn't beef stew usually take hours to cook?'' Hanakai asked me she continued coating the meat.

''Depends.'' I replied as I finished the carrots and moved to the onions. ''The way you cut the ingredient usually determines that. If you cut them in large chunks it can take hours until everything is thoroughly cooked, but if you cut them in smaller pieces it can take less, like thirty or forty minutes.''

When the onions were done, I moved to the garlic. ''In our case it will take roughly an hour. While it cooks we can focus on the other dishes.''

''I see.'' She nodded as she dusted the flour off her hands. ''Why add the flour though?''

''It helps brown the beef, plus it will help thicken the stew. If you're done there, take that big pot over there and place it on the stove, turn it on and add a tablespoon of olive oil when the bottom heats up.''

''Yes chef!'' she nodded cheerfully.

I took all the ingredient I needed and brought them to the counter right next to the stone, a wooded spoon in my right hand. I put the beef first, flipping on each side to get an even color. ''Won't the meat burn by the time it's cooked?'' my little sous chef asked me as she analysed my every move.

''No, we aren't looking to cook it all the way through at this stage, we are just giving it a nice brown color. It will cook through as it simmers. '' I told her as I took the chopped vegetables and a thyme twig and put them in the pot over the meat. ''Give this a good mix until I open this.''

''Wine?'' she tilted her head slightly as she continued to mix in the pot. ''Won't we get drunk if you add wine to the stew? ''

I almost chuckled at her question. Oh, to be young and so innocently unaware. ''Don't worry, when you cook with wine and other alcoholic drinks in general, as it boils and reduces the alcohol burns off and concentrates the flavor.''

''Huh... I didn't know that.'' She nodded to herself, passing me the spatula. ''Does it have any other benefits?''

''It helps deglaze the pot, but it also helps to further tenderize the beef.'' I explained as I took a deep breath of the aroma flying from the pot, enjoying every bit of the scent.

Now that the wine reduced to half, I added a cup of beef stock and slowly mixed everything, placing the lid on, carefully letting a crack in it for the stew to breathe. I wrapped a towel around then handles and gently lifted it up, placing it in the oven that I preheated when I went for the wine.

''Now we just let it simmer for about an hour.'' I closed the oven and went back to the table. ''Time to focus on the rice.''

''Take the colander over there and rinse the rice in it.'' I told her the first step of the recipe, looking around for the spices that I will use. ''Also be sure to use cold water.''

''Does it matter if it's cold or warm?'' She carefully asked right before putting her hand on the sink tap.

''Yeah, if you use warm water the rice will stick together and turn into a giant lump. Always use cold water, the colder the better.'' I narrowed my eyes and pierced the cardamom seeds in my hands. ''Oh, and before you ask, rinsing the rice before cooking it stops it from turning clumpy in the pan, and it becomes light and fluffy once its cooked.''

I pointed to the pot next to me, she understood and placed the rinsed rice in it. I followed her and put over the rice the cardamom pods, two star anise cloves, salt and pepper. Covering it all with cold water and sealing the pot off with its lid, giving it a good shake and turning on the heat.

''Now we leave it reach the boil, when it does we turn the heat off to let it simmer for about eight to ten minutes. Also it's very important to keep the lid on because we are looking to steam the rice, and if you take of the lid you lose all that steam.''

''All right, time for last item.'' I nodded to myself as I took a large bowl. Whisking together in it flour, a pinch of salt, an egg and milk until everything was a nice smooth mixture.

I heated a large frying pan on the stove and drizzled a small amount of oil in it. Pouring gently the mixture in with a ladle, spreading it out thinly.

''Pancakes?'' she asked me slowly as she peeked over my shoulder.

''Yep.'' While I didn't see her face, something told me that she was starring with small sparks in her eyes. I can't really say I was used to this kind of thing, getting starred like this when I cook. Although Sella keeps tabs on me when I step in the kitchen, she never stared the way Hanakai currently did, which was a rather new experience. It didn't feel bad, just different from what I was used for.

''How do you know when it done on a side?'' she asked curiously.

For I moment I wanted to ask her if she was serious about not knowing how to do something as basic as a pancake, but I somehow managed to stay silent and pointed with the spatula to the batter in the pan. ''See those small bubbles forming in the batter, when they form that's when you need to flip it over.'' Loosening the half cooked pancake with the spatula, with a flick of the wrist I flipped it in the air, catching it back in the pan on the uncooked side.

''Wow!'' For a person who is used to supernatural events and could probably conjugate elements in the palms of her hands, Hanakai seemed rather impressed by my cooking display.

I placed the ready pancake in empty plate and spread a new layer of batter in the pan. When i heard the noise from the rice pot I took one of Hanakai's hand and placed the spatula in it. ''Try doing one while I take care off the rice.''

The moment she realized what I just did she started panicking and turning right and left, unsure what to do. ''It's ok, no need to panic, just do it at your pace.'' I reassured her as I turned off the gas at the rice.

She didn't say anything else and concentrated on the pan in front of her, following the same steps I did. When she attempted to do an air flip, she unfortunately used no much force and it hit the ceiling. I could see the dark cloud of depression forming on her head as she failed. ''Hey it's alright, no need to let it get to you. The first pancake is always a mess, that's like an unwritten rule in cooking.''

Even though I tried to reassure her, she didn't seem to brighten up. I sighed and stepped behind her, guiding my arms around her waist and placing my hands over her own. She flinched the moment I touched her, small hands trembling slightly under my own. ''Here, you do it like this.''

She was rigid for a few moments, body refusing to move, her ears looking very red. She took a deep breath and let my hands guide her.

When she flipped the pan, I could feel the muscles in her hands tense. The pancakes was spinning in the air, quickly falling down.

She moved the pan quickly to the side to catch it. However it wasn't on the exact mark, as it landed on the edge of the pan, threatening to fall off.

I could feel the temperature in her skin drop by a few degrees, the fear of failure present in her body. I pulled her pan holding hand backwards, stopping the fall, and instead making it take its rightful place in the middle of the pan.

She didn't move and just starred flabbergasted at the pan for a couple of seconds. She put the pan back on the stove and quickly turned. ''I did it!' she squeaked as she began hugging me.

If a minute ago she was the one that felt really anxious and I was the one that felt relaxed, the roles just swapped, my body sitting rigid in place as I felt a little awkward towards her little display of affection.

I wasn't really sure what one should do or say in a situation like this so I remained silent as I tried to think of a solution. Perhaps it was because I was so close to her that I felt the scent of her hair... lavender. My eyes narrowed curiously at her hair, although her hair is white, the roots of the said hair are actually black.

After a couple of very long and REALLY uncomfortable seconds, Hanakai finally seemed to realize that she was invading my personal space way more than I was comfortable with allowing, a small blush forming on her cheeks as she let go and pulled back, a small giggle escaping her lips. ''S-Sorry, I might have went a little too excited there.''

I didn't really know when it happened but my hand already reached for the back of my head and it was already scratching it rather strongly. ''N-No it's ok.''

I would have probably continued feeling awkward if not for an unpleasant smell that got my attention. ''I think the pancake is burning.''

''Say what?!'' She instantly snapped back at the pan, her skin going pale as she saw the pancake that she managed to flip oozing with the smell of burnt batter. ''Oh darn it!''

I was about to pat her on the shoulder with the intention to reassure her, and tell her not to let it get to her. However a snickering sound coming from the kitchen door got my attention. I turned around and was greeted by the small gallery that is the peerage I am part in.

All of them standing in the door frame, first person in front was Yura with a rather large smile that for some unknown reason reminded me of a cat, and it made me feel really uncomfortable.

Second line behind her were Kusaka and Meguri, the first holding her palm over her mouth trying to hide the obvious chuckle she was having while the latter didn't bother hide herself and laughed unrestrained.

The third line was formed by Shinra-senpai, Nimura and Saji. The two mentioned ladies all sported small amused smiles, while the other blond pawn of the group appeared rather confused and still half-asleep if his half-lidded eyes were any give away.

While I was a little surprised that they were all now awake, the one that really seemed affected by this seemed to be Hanakai for some reason. Her face going pale, small sweat drops running on her face, the corner of her mouth trembling all too slightly. ''S-Since when were you there?''

''Oh~ you know.'' Yura's smile grew a couple of inches, surprising me how she could smile like that without her face hurting. ''We came around the time you made that pancake hit the ceiling. ''

''W-Wait... s-so you mean you s-saw...?'' the white haired bishop slowly stuttered, her pale skin quickly gaining a rather pronounced red shade to it.

''Pretty much everything.'' Meguri chuckled lightly, a sly smile beaming on her face. ''That was totally like in a movie I once saw.''

''And here I thought you had the hots for the prince charming types like Kiba Yuuto, but I guess Emiya isn't that far behind him in the looks department.'' Yura shrugged her shoulders as her grin increased. I couldn't help but wonder if it was because she was a devil that she could smile like that since it should be physically impossible for a human to grin at such a degree. ''So when is the first da-''

Although I was curious about what she was gonna ask, that curiosity was quickly overshadowed by a strong sense of flabbergast as a burnt pancake was smashed in Yura's face. My eyes slowly drifted to the side and stared at Hanakai, the pan she used to throw the pancake firmly held in her hands like a tennis racket, an annoyed scowl present on her face. Huh, for someone who couldn't do a proper pancake flip she could surprisingly throw them rather well. ''I would stop there if I were you. While I like Emiya as a person, I don't feel that way about him so stop talking nonsense.''

For some reason my instincts were on the edge, as if someone was whispering in the back of my head to run away before it was too late, however I couldn't help but stare at Yura as the pancake slowly peeled itself and fell down, revealing an very irritated stare from the blue haired girl, left eye twitching violently, a smile was present on her face, one that seemed like it was ready to bite at any moment. ''Bitch you're lucky I have my leg in a cast, otherwise I would so use it to kick your ass.''

Now that she mentioned it, her left leg was covered in cast similar to the one that Saji had, in fact everyone present had some sign of injury. Nimura had her whole shoulder covered in bandages, Meguri had her head tied in bandages similar to Hanakai but also had a cast put around her shoulder, keeping her arm hang in the air. I could see the bandages peeking under Kusaka's clothes starting from her waist, ending all the way to her chin, all while Shinra-senpai had her throat and hands covered in bandages.

My hand tightened around the edge of the counter, knuckles turning white. It seems I might have forgotten how difficult the battle from last night was. I might have stood a chance against Kurosaiga, but the others didn't, and it cost them.

I have to get stronger... to prevent something like this from happening ever again.

''Looking for a fight iron board!?'' her white eyebrows narrowed in annoyance.

''What was that snow-white?!'' She snapped as she cracked her knuckles.

A sweat drop run on my face. For some unknown reason I had the distinct impression that if no one stood up and interfered, this kitchen will turn into a full on battle zone between the two girls.

''Really?'' A chill ran down my spine as I heard the dull yet very cold voice from behind the gallery at the door. It seemed like I wasn't the only one affected as everyone went pale and made way for our master to come in. Although her hair was messy, her wrists were in casts and her abdomen was tied tightly in bandages, the stare she was throwing to Yura and Hanakai certainly intimidated if not straight out scare the living hell out of them. ''Just when I thought Saji and Emiya were finally making progress, I find you two taking their place.''

Both girls opened their mouths to retort and defend themselves, the glasses of my king somehow started glowing maliciously at them in response. Any complaints the two girls had died in their throats as they shuddered and backed down, the conflict averted by the power of my master's icy stare.

I sighed and went back to making pancakes. ''I hope you don't mind that I made use of your kitchen master.''

She stared tiredly at me as she took a seat at the table, adjusting her falling glasses. ''Personally that's the least of my concerns. Are you sure you are in any condition to cook after what happened last night?''

''Can't say that I'm in the best of conditions, but a little lunch isn't too difficult. Plus cooking is a hobby of mine.''

She was silent for a few moments, a tired sigh escaping her lips. ''If you say so. However try to not push yourself too hard.''

''I will try master.'' I gave her a light nod as I poured a new batch of batter in the pan. ''Take a seat and relax, the food will be ready in a few minutes.''

''Is that so...'' she commented, a small curiosity present in her voice. ''Well until it's done, we might as well go over what happened after you passed out.''

I flipped the pancake over, my hand tightening around the pan's handle. ''Something bad happened?''

''Not exactly.'' She sighed lightly. ''There was a lot of cleaning up to do afterwards. Normally when it comes to stray hunts you only need to send a report about how the hunt itself went, but due to the way things escalated there was a lot of things to report.''

I turned the pan and let pancake land on a plate. ''What do you mean by that?''

There was long silence followed by a tired sigh. ''Tell me Emiya, what was our mission last night?''

I tilted my head curious as I poured a new batch of batter in the pan. ''Stray hunting?''

''Exactly, our mission was a stray hunt, but it wasn't one for Kurosaiga Ichirou, it was meant for the stray devil Scarin. It was supposed to be a mission we could handle, struggle a little perhaps, but not one above our ability. '' Shinra-senpai elaborated in my master place.

''When people like Kaichou receive stray hunt requests they aren't given one that is too dangerous for them and their peerage. Even if there was any report of that Kurosaiga guy's presence around our territory, I doubt that they would've requested us to do it in the first place. I mean look us, the guy totally wrecked our shit last night.'' Yura decided to add her own two cents in her rather colorful tone.

''I guess that explains some stuff.'' I nodded as flipped the pancake. Now that I think about it, it's very logical that they wouldn't request us to hunt a stray that is beyond our capabilities. I'm by no means an expert about how the devil system works, but I understood enough to see that they don't risk the lives of the pure blooded devils. To them, people like my master are valuable, her well being is one of their main interests.

They would never request a hunt that they weren't sure it would be a complete success.

''Other than that we had to contact the underworld and report everything that happened, and boy was that a bitch. Also since we were all so messed up, we couldn't get rid of the bodies of Scarin and Kurosaiga so we had to send them to the underworld and let them handle things, heck we even sent his shattered sword.'' Yura further elaborated.

''About that, couldn't you just give Rias-senpai a call and ask her to help us get rid of them?'' I couldn't help but be intrigued by Nimura's question at my master. Gremory-senpai is also an owner of this territory, so that means that she also shares responsibility. It would have been a logical idea.

I glanced to my master with the edge of my eye, noticing a rather annoyed scowl present on her face. ''Yeah... I'm not going to do that.''

There was a cold sweat drop running on my face in response to her answer, I couldn't help but try to dive in. ''Why?''

She was silent, her face nothing but pure and unadulterated seriousness. ''Reasons.''

''Whatever you say master...'' I turned off the stove and tried to not comment any further. A small 'click' got my attention, the stew finished cooking. ''Well foods done, so let's all eat.''

After putting a pair of kitchen mitts I took out the pot and placed it on the wooden cutting board on the table. The moment I lifted the lid the eyes of everyone at the table seemed to sparkles. Heck Yura was actually drooling. ''Wow, this smells amazing.''

''Can't believe you made this Emiya.'' Kusaka said in awe.

''I didn't do everything by myself, I did have some help.'' I rubbed the back of my head somewhat awkward as I pointed to Hanakai.

The white haired bishop giving me an approving smile and nod. ''I wasn't that much of a help, if you didn't give me instructions every time I would've probably made something explode.''

''Are you really that bad Momo?'' Kusaka asked her fellow bishop.

She scratched her cheek while laughing awkwardly ''... It's not that I don't know how to cook, but I tend to get a little off track in the kitchen. By the time I realize it something went wrong and then everything starts falling apart.''

After I served the stew together with the steamed rice it was Saji that decided to speak. ''Well let's see how 'off track' you were when you helped Emiya make this.''

The moment everyone took a bit of the food, I could have sworn that I saw a lighting strike in the middle of the room.

* * *

''Wow, just wow.'' Meguri exhaled with a very satisfied face.

''That has to be the best stew I ever ate.'' Yura grinned strongly.

''Saji-senpai are you ok? Didn't you like the food?'' Nimura asked the same question I was about to ask, the blond pawn was just starring aimlessly at his empty plate. It couldn't have been that he didn't like the food, he did ask for seconds after all.

''W-What? No!'' he responded after blinking confused for a couple of seconds, shaking his head and slightly rubbing his eyes, clearly trying to hide the fact that he had tears building in them. ''It's just... it's been a while since I had a warm meal.''

Kusaka tilted her head confused, one of her braids falling to the side. ''How come?''

Saji was silent for a few moments, sighing in defeat as he rested his head on his arm. ''My parents are most of the time away with work. It's pretty much me alone at home, so most of the time I have to make due with instant food, and store bought stuff.''

''That sounds bad.'' Ruruko comment with a somewhat pitiful expression on her face, and I for one agreed with her. I can't imagine someone living with instant food, all of the nutritious values aside, I just find that kind of food bland and lacking in flavour.

The blond pawns face morphed into an exhausted stare. ''You don't even know the half of it.''

Meguri began humming as she held a finger on her chin, flicking her fingers in excitement after a few moments. ''Maybe you could try and learn to cook like Emiya did.''

Saji let out a dry snort as he stared at our groups lively Knight. ''Rightttttt~ don't think cooking is my thing.''

It was Hanakai that stepped in this time. ''You can't know until you try it.''

He scratched his check awkwardly, looking at the sides to avoid eye contact with the others. ''Don't know what to say...''

Before he or anyone else could comment anything else, Yura managed to get behind him and lock his head into what appeared a very strong and suffocating headlock. ''Oh stop being such a pansy!''

Since I didn't really enjoy the sight of Saji's skin changing to a dark shade of blue, I decided to talk a little to the master of this lively bunch. ''Did you enjoy the food master?''

I was really curious what she thought as she was silent during the whole she ate while everyone else was very vocal about how good the food was. ''I'm somewhat conflicted at the moment. Although I grew up eating some of the most refined dished ever made by world level chefs...'' There was a moment a silence, a small smile forming on her lips, her glasses sliding slightly down giving a better view of her purple orbs. ''But if this was any indication, I can't help but think I prefer food made by you.''

My hand reached to the back of my head and began rubbing it awkwardly. It felt somewhat interesting to have my cooking appreciated by other people. Although it isn't exactly the same without Sella's constructive criticism. While the food I made at home was good she always found something to nitpick about, which I think helped me perfect the way I cooked.

I glanced to my left as I felt something poke my ribs. I stared confused as Meguri was poking me with her elbow, staring at me with half lidded eyes and sly smile. ''Hear that Emi-chan, Kaichou wants to eat your food every day.'' Her smile grew wider, her eyes rolling towards my master who staring blankly at us. ''You better start practicing the naked apron routine.''

Although I wanted to ask Meguri what she meant by her last sentence, that curiosity went down the drain when a jet of pressurized water hit the mentioned girl dead middle in the face. The said blast sending her crash in a nearby drawer, the impact causing the bag of flower that I used earlier at making pancakes to fall right on her head.

I slowly looked at my master who was now adjusting her glasses, though I couldn't help but notice the water drops on the hand and the rather rosy shade she had in her cheeks. ''I hope that will cool you off.'' She told her as she flipped her hand to the side, getting rid of the water remains.

There was a dead silence in the room, no one daring to comment anything knowing that our master was on the edge and preferred staying dry.

''I don't know about you guys, but now that she said it I can't help it and think about it.'' Hanakai commented as she played with a strand of her hair, a similar shade of red present on her cheeks.

''Wonder if he has the ass to pull it off?'' Yura hummed curiously as she stared at me. It made me feel really uncomfortable, like she was trying to strip me with her stare or something.

''How shameless.'' Shinra-senpai admitted as she looked to the side, avoiding to look at me, her cheeks burning in bright red. Kusaka and Nimura the same as they followed suit at the same time.

I honestly had no clue about what they talked about anymore. This all changed when my master suddenly got up and began walking out of the kitchen, glancing towards the groups two bishops as she was at the door. ''If you ladies are done with the fantasies, I think it's time for my healing session.''

Kusaka stared for a few moments before nodding and following after her. ''Oh that's right.''

''Be right back guys.'' Hanakai waved as she left the kitchen together with Kusaka. After about five seconds she peeked her head the door and threw us an annoyed frown. ''If you munch all the pancakes I'll beat you up.''

I stared at the empty door before looking at Saji, giving him a look that could have been translated as 'What the hell just happened?' He shrugged his shoulders in a way that pretty much said 'I have no idea.'

I rested in the chair and sighed. Maybe I should make some sweets.

* * *

It was about two hours later that Kusaka and Hanakai returned, both of them clearly tired from such a long healing session.

''How did her treatment go?'' I asked them as they sat at the table, serving both of them with tea that they gladly accepted.

''Fine I guess.'' Kusaka admitted as she took a sip of her tea. ''The bones are back in place, but a lot of muscle tissue and blood vessels were severally damaged when Kurosaiga crushed her writs, so it will take some time before they completely heal.''

''What is she doing now?'' Meguri asked as she entered the room, drying her head with a towel. Who would've thought that flour mixed with water can get your hair sticky like how hers was when she had her little 'blast off' via masters water stream.

''Resting, she really needs it. Healing can be straining for both the healer and the healed.'' Hanakai answered with a tired sigh, she was clearly more tired than Kusaka was.

 _Click_

Putting on a pair of kitchen mitts I took out the tray from the oven and placed the contents on a large plate, silently enjoying the aroma. ''I made cookies, anyone want to try some?''

The one to answer in the name of everyone present seemed to be Yura. ''Instead of asking you should push the plate here.''

Meguri looked around the kitchen for a moment, as if looking for something or someone. ''Where's Saji?''

''He said he was going out for some air. Might as well call him too.'' After all, food taste better when there more people.

* * *

When I got outside the house I took a look around, but the blond was nowhere to be seen. ''Saji? You here?''

''I'm here.'' His voice directed me to a nearby tree by which my fellow pawn was resting against. When I got closer I noticed a small weak light hanging in front of his mouth, a nasty smell invading my nostrils when the wind blew in my direction. ''You're smoking?''

He shrugged his shoulders and stared disinterested at the nicotine filled stick in his mouth. ''Pretty much... though I've been trying to lay off them.''

A decided to stay in place and talk from a proper distance to avoid getting any of the smell onto me, yet what he said crossed my curiously. ''How is that coming along?''

He leaned his head against the tree and took a deep breath, shortly after exhaling a mouthful of the cancerous smoke. ''Well I used to smoke a pack per day, but now I'm down at one cigarette per day, two on stressful ones. Still have a long way before giving up on them completely.''

''When did this all start?''

He took a moment and rubbed his chin, humming very slowly as he did. ''First year of high school, got involved with the wrong bunch and ended up picking up this habit. Thought it made me cool.''

''Don't really see how smocking make one look cooler than other people.''

''Guess it's a matter of perspective.'' He shrugged as he threw down the now finished cigar bud and put it out with his foot, reaching for his pocket and tacking out a cigarette pack. He picked a new one and held it between his lips as he took a lighter. When he began flicking it he stopped for a moment, his eyes curiously looking at as he raised the pack towards me. ''Want one?''

A shook my head, and waved my hand in denial. ''Sorry, not that curious.''

He nodded as he got back to lighting the cancer inducing stick. ''Good choice. Once you get hooked on this shit it's hard to stop, trust me on this one.''

I nodded slowly, a long and heavy silence forming between us. I looked to the sky feeling somewhat awkward about his whole conversation. I let out a dry cough and turned around. ''Well... I wanted to tell you that I made some sweets. If you're interested you can come to the kitchen.''

He nodded as he took another puff from his cigarette. ''Be there in a minute.''

* * *

I rolled my eyes as I munched on my cookie, looking at everyone at the table as we all chatted while eating cookies and drinking tea. I couldn't help but feel how strangely normal this whole situatuion was.

Devils...

We are supposed to be devils... creatures of sin... inhuman beings.

And yet we are so _human_.

All of the supernatural mayhem that happened last night aside, here we are chatting and eating cookies without a care in the world.

To me the line between human and devil seemed very thin at the moment.

I shook my head and sighed tiredly, trying to understand such things was proving rather difficult to me. I became a devil due to having no other choice in the matter, but what about them?

''Are you okay Emiya?'' Shinra-senpai's voice broke me out of my train of thought, her brown eyes gazing curiously on me. Her question getting the attention of everyone else at the table. ''You kept starring at the air for a while.''

I straightened myself and considered what I should answer. Should I be vague or honest with them?

Although I know that we haven't exactly known each other for long and I believe that perhaps it wouldn't be really right for me to ask. Who knows... what they went through and led to them joining her might have been something traumatic, and I would be opening old scars.

I shouldn't do it... it's wrong.

Yet...

The scar on my chest throbbed, memories of last night's encounter haunting me, the life and downfall of Kurosaiga flashing in front of my eyes.

I had to know.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself, the serious look that I gave them was noticed, everyone now had their eyes on me. ''Actually, I've been wondering about this for a while... how did guy's met our master and why did you decided to join her in the first place?''

The silence in the room was so heavy you could just cut it with a knife, everyone looking awkwardly at each other, clearly affected at some level by my question.

''Huh...'' Yura trailed as she rested her chin on her hand. ''Now that you mention it, I never heard how you guys joined as well.''

''Guess it never occurred to us to talk about it.'' Kusaka commented as she played with one of her braids.

''Now I'm really curious!'' Meguri shouted excited, slamming her hands lightly on the table, a curios gleam present in her eyes. ''Let's all share stories!''

She was excited, that was without a doubt. Everyone else on the other hand seemed to be of different opinion, each of them quiet and looking to a different direction, clearly trying to avoid talking about the matter.

I facepalmed at my own stupidity, this here was the exact thing I didn't want to cause. ''Forget what I asked, you don't need to do it if you don't want to. I was thinking out loud.''

''Nah! It's ok!'' Meguri waved her hand and offered me an assuring smile, the said smile dropping slightly as she noticed that everyone else was anything but excited. ''For me at least...''

''Anyway we are all members of Kaichou's peerage, so we should all trust each other and be friends! So who wants to go first?'' She beamed at her comrades, but was only got nervous stares in return. She waited for a couple of seconds to see if anyone was going to do it, but no one offered. Her smile dropped and her eyes half closed. ''Geez... Fine I'll go first!''

''Where should I start?'' she crossed her arms and started humming. ''Ok! Let's see...''

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Huh… would you look at. That lazy bum of an author has finally decided to update the story… seriously people will forget the story exists if he keeps this up.'' Taiga commented with a smug smile on her face.

''Instructor you shouldn't call the author a lazy bum, he might just close our corner.'' Miyu added her own two cents.

''Well, how do you call a guy who took three months to update a story, keeping in mind that those said months happened to be summer break.'' The tiger woman asked with a snort.

''…'' she couldn't find the retort to that.

''Well it says here that he kept writing and revising this chapter over and over again until it ended up with a chapter that was way too big, so he had to split it in two parts.'' Illya explained from her kitty themed laptop.

''Wait… I feel like we've been here before. Have we've been here before?'' Taiga's eyes widened as she snatched the laptop from Illya and checked the other chapter of the story. ''Oh my God, this is happening again!''

''So it seems, we're getting another double chapter.'' Miyu nodded.

''How much time lag was between chapters last time? '' Illya asked.

''I think it was about a week.'' Miyu hummed.

''So we will be making an appearance next week too?'' Taiga squirmed around in excitement. ''Sweet! Our time is approaching!''

''Did anyone told her she won't be making any appearance any time soon?'' Miyu whispered to Illya.

''Shh! She mustn't find out!''

''Hey! Stop all the gossip and do your job!'' the tiger roared.

''Stay tuned for chapter 8 'Untold stories II'.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **So… I ended up taking three months to update… God I'm such a lazy ass.**

 **Well guess it's better than half a year… or a whole year. I mean seriously there are some stories that I thought were dead and bam they got updated after more than a year. And i'm like 'WTF this thing is still alive?'**

 **All that aside, this chapter was a rather light hearted one, the aftermath of the fight. It may seem a little bland to some but it's an essential one in order to do some build up with Shirou but the other characters as well.**

 **Btw I have something that's been bugging me for some time. While reading other fanfics, I keep stumbling upon a certain line, that it was Kokabiel that ordered Raynare to kill Issei. Is that canon stuff?**

 **I mean I don't recall reading that in the light novel or see in the anime. So I gotta ask, is that just an explanation the fandom made, or is it what actually happened, cuz I will need to know for sure if I were to explain some stuff in the future.**

 **Anything else... well i've trying to get my driving licence... oh boy driving is a real bitch.**

 **Before some of the cooking experts bite my head of about the recipe Shirou used this chapter, i'm not a professional cook so don't expect me to have a deep knowledge of the culinary world.**

 **There is something that i wish to address. I plan to give one of the remaining two longinus sacred gears to a certain character in this story. I won't specify which one it is or who i will give it to (don't worry it won't be Shirou), but i want to tell you guys by now that i already create a fan theory powers for it and decided on a certain character to use it, so even if the official version gets revealed by the time i present it in my story, i will still use the version that i created. (or unless the canon version does the same with what i created... i highly doubt that... I have Lancer luck so you can imagine)**

 **As mentioned in the omake, next chapter will be posted sometime next week. Hope there won't be any more occurrences that will keep me from respecting the deadline.**

 **Oh a suggestion. Before you begin and read next chapter, make yourself a long playlist of sad/emotional anime ost. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen, just next chapter will be a rather emotional one and some proper music will work very well.**

* * *

 **Time to answer some reviews:**

 **Daemon of Wrath: Thanks, it certainly wasn't easy writing this OC. I want Shirou to experience some 'real world' problems before I start the canon timeline, making Shirou dive in with some personal experience and Kurosaiga's character is to serve him as an example of how humans are manipulated. Another thing is that I want Shirou to experience stuff himself, while I could just make him experience a lot through EMIYA's memories and all, it wouldn't be the same, since those belong to EMIYA. He needs to feel them himself. If i were to give an example to what i'm trying to do now, i guess its something similar to the first arcs of '** **Do Me A Wrong' by ChaosEmperorNex**

 **Web11211: For a rather long time both of them will be only side characters. I have some plans for them, but it will take place much later.**

 **RinoKuro: Well, I would lie if I said that I don't take inspiration from Ishida Sui. But don't worry, I don't have a tragedy boner like that guy... or girl. I do like the way he foreshadows, draws parallels and does hidden meaning in somewhat random panels and events, that's the stuff I would like to do. (Wonder how the guy would write a romance story... forget what I just said... it would be anything but normal) As you can see in this chapter, it was a rather casual and everyday chapter, and stay chill, I prefer more light and nice stuff, but I have to factor that Shirou is the MC, so I have to stay at least in the grey zone.**

 **Server lock: Damn... If I only had a penny every time there is a missed mistake. Well there won't any time skip... for at least 30 chapters... I think?... Can't really blame you, considering the time frame between each chapter, it would be surprising if you did.**

 **Well this is supposed to be a 'what if' version of Kalied liner Shirou (the lame one that's Illyas' brother, not Miyu's cool brother). Well a main difference between this story and Demon Lords Hero is that the later takes a lot of liberties and modifies a lot of world mechanics as well as the characters themselves. While it may not be present at the moment I plan to follow the canon timeline from DxD, adding new factors and flavors to the story, but not contradicting already stated facts in the world. Because there is a lot of vaguely explained stuff in the dxd lore, I can jumble with them, filling the gaps and making more sense out of them. For instance I could find a reason why there aren't more physical manifestation of concepts like Ophis and Great Red.**

 **Anyway... I want to show the dxd story from a different perspective, with different characters, and a more complex main character.**

 **Gritchariya: That was what I wanted to show, a clash of technique and strategy, since that is the way Shirou and Archer do their stuff.**

 **Depends how you look at it. Shirou is a person that can't stand injustice and people suffering, and when he hears the others talk that Kurosaiga was crazy and all, he doesn't like it. While he know he can't clear his name, the least he can do is let a selected few knew the truth.**

 **DannyPhantom619: He certainly won't be laughing that's for sure.**

 **A New User: I wouldn't worry about that, I have everything planned out. I wanted to avoid Shirou getting know too much magecraft or expose too much about the Sitri team from the very beginning. But things will start changing a little from now on. It's not like Shirou will just tell Iri that. About his origin, it will be revealed in time, with the help of a person that was mentioned up until now but never directly appeared in the story. I'm planning to have a whole chapter dedicated to the true origin of this version of Shirou.**

 **DPSS: Actually it was matter of Shirou not having a full mastery of projection. Think of it configuration mistakes, not only he isn't on the same level as Archer, but he also consumes way more mana than he would if he did it the correct way. About developing to fast... I am trying to keep a certain balance in his evolution. Hope i can do that.**

 **Piddle: Not really sure about that one... I mean even with an Excalibur Freed is pretty much a low threat enemy... at least to Shirou. He could just nuke and wrap things for the day.**

 **Aesir19: Rather than heal, it's more like stopping the idiot before he bleed out. Yeahhh... I doubt that Sona would heal Shirou like that... especially with everyone present.**

 **dragonfighter11: I think the question you are asking is 'Which girls?'**

 **Suzululu4moe: Actually the thing with Rias and Issei will be answered in this story. And the answer will be something unexpected.**

 **BlazingRedDragon: Like I said 50/50 chances. It isn't easy to write a fight scene that's why it took so damn long to update ch 5 and 6, it's a bit hard to visualize them, especially since I was restricted to using just a couple of weapons.**

 **the unsung antihero: I'll be waiting for your suggestion then. I guess many people are, since Shirou can basically have learned all kind of bullshit abilities off screen.**

 **Mangahero18: I already do that, my beta is doing it as well. There are just some errors that just get unnoticed.**

 **Lsilver19: I guess that Archer is somewhat more popular than Shirou, if you take in account type moon polls that is. Another reason may be because for a writer it may be easier using Archer since he is already strong and experienced and you as the write don't have to bother thinking of ways for him to get stronger. Oh, and the GAR, don't forget the GAR.**

 **Akuma-Heika: Shirou lacking holy element you say... better not hang onto that thought.**

 **Star: Thank you, that was exactly what I was going for when I wrote the fight, canonically Shirou always faced enemies he couldn't beat with strength alone, but with precise and calculated tactics. I didn't get help per say with the quotes, but I do often ask my beta Shadow of Life for an opinion regarding a lot of the stuff I do.**

 **Hakel Fury: I did have that option of making an op Shirou that had more interactions with the Gremory team, but I wanted to create something different, add something fresh while still using some of the already used ideas.**

 **saske92ii: You might be the first one to notice that. Well let's just say that when Shirou will realize just how he is changing he won't react well to it.**

 **LuciferXIII Trollkaiger Green: Huh… not that you mentioned it I did lose the perfect moment to do that. Damn I still have much to learn.**

 **bloodredmoon22: Don't take this the wrong way but that idea would be a writer suicide move for me. The idea itself sounds interesting but it's impossible since weapons Shirou sees in pictures or movies can't be recorded in his reality marble. All the technical part aside, if shirou could just copy random anime weapons he would become even more OP than Gilgamesh is, I mean if he binged the whole Bleach series he would have a unstoppable arsenal.**

 **Web11211: Oh don't worry he will learn soon.**

 **NoNameReviewer: By Zelretch's unholy beard! Finally someone who is getting what I'm doing here.**

 **I will eagerly wait for more of your reviews, this is the kind of stuff that I want to read, people pointing out the ups and downs of my story from a professional point, giving me arguments and examples that help me improve.**

 **conan lagace** **: It didn't explode from making it a broken phantasm, but it exploded the moment Kurosaiga tried to deflect it, the clash of the two swords being strong enough to cause the broken phantasm to break and explode on contact.**

 **correnhimself316: Your opinion might just be a very valid one.**

 **Grim24: I'm sorry to disappoint you but this is the way I'm writing this story. I can't satisfy every reader, that's just impossible no matter how good of an author you are. If for every 1 reader that doesn't like my story I have 10 others that like it I'm satisfied just like that. May you have a good day.**

 **Eternity Wind: I hope this chapter managed to help you out.**

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	8. Untold Stories II

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 **A/N: Before you begin reading this chapter i would recommend you to make a playlist of sad/emotional anime ost. If you aren't feeling like making one, i recommend searching on YouTube for a hour long or so ost collection, like Anime Music Mix [ Sad Emotional Soundtracks OST ] by Mugas50 Mix. Makes the chapter feel more alive.**

* * *

 _A long time ago I asked myself._

 _Why would people chose to give up their humanity?_

 _For vengeance?_

 _For wealth?_

 _For power?_

 _Because they didn't have a choice in the matter?_

 _These could be common reasons._

 _Yet some chose to give it up because they thought it was their only chance..._

 _A chance for a little happiness._

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

 **Untold stories II**

* * *

 _I guess that every problem has a point where it all started, in my case it was when I was still just a little girl. I was born and raised in the Meguri clan, one of the very few families in Japan that specializes in exorcising and destroying evil spirits._

 _Those born within my family are taught the arts of purification, exorcism and destruction of evil spirits from a very young age._

 _I was the only child of the main branch family and pretty much the next one in line to inherit everything. As you can imagine my family had a lot of expectations for me._

 _Expectation that I didn't live up to._

 _Children may remember from their childhood how they played with their friends or how they spent their time laughing with their parents. The only things I remember are the many times I tried to live up to my family's expectations and failed._

 _Day in and day out, I would try and learn our arts from the old scrolls we owned, I asked the elders for tips, I trained my body hopping that my control over spiritual skills would somehow develop._

 _It wasn't that I didn't try hard enough, I just wasn't suited for the techniques taught by my family. A matter of incompatibility one may say._

 _The only thing that I had any talent in was kendo. I wasn't by any means a genius or a natural talent, but it was the one thing that I could do better than most people in the family and it was something that i actually enjoyed._

 _Overall my childhood was difficult._

 _I was looked down upon by most of our family's members._

 _'A defect' by their words._

 _But even so I tried my best and never give up._

 _As I was growing up I kept on training, hoping that one day perhaps by some miracle I might become able to use my family's arts and earn their approuval._

 _Holding onto that hope, I dedicated myself to my swordsmanship, trying to polish it to new heights. If it was my only forte, I might as well make the best I could of it._

 _Everything change two years ago._

 _I wanted to prove that the time I spent training with my sword wasn't just to have a hobby or some excuse to slack on my other lessons, so I entered the national kendo that took place that year._

 _I was feeling pretty confident in my skills and didn't doubt that I will win._

 _The competition was in the form of a tournament and its overall duration was about two weeks. When it began I sent invitation to my family to come and look at my matches._

 _It was after I won the first round that I eagerly looked in the crowd to see where my family was. Only after looking around for five minutes that I realized no one came._

 _Though I couldn't help but notice a girl with glasses that kept staring at me rather. Something felt off, but i decided to ignore it._

 _I tried to be positive and hope that they will come for the next rounds._

 _The next three rounds had gone easy, and yet there was still no one who came to see me._

 _Somehow this affected my concentration during the final round of the tournament. My opponent wasn't too strong, but at the same time he wasn't by any means someone who would make me struggle the way I did. In the end it came down to a point decision, I did win, but it was a rather close call._

 _After I was awarded the first place prize I took a glance at the crowd, hoping that perhaps someone from my family came to see me._

 _I felt like my heart exploded in joy when I saw a familiar face in the crowd, far more joy than the one I had from winning the tournament itself._

 _I rushed over to see the person who sitting close to the exit._

 _It was my father._

 _While I thought I knew the man pretty well, I didn't know what to expect from him next. A congratulation? At thumbs up? A hug? A pat on the head? A proud smile?_

'' _How pointless.'' Those words he told me with that disappointed face made me feel like something broke inside of my body._

'' _I came all the way here, expecting a flawless victory and here you struggled against a third rate opponent.'' Was all he said as he turned around and walked away._

 _Everything felt hazy at that moment, my stomach feeling like it was boiling and was ready to throw up its contents at any second. I simply walked to my changing room and took a look in the mirror when I arrived._

 _When I saw my reflection in the mirror... everything went red._

 _I threw my trophy in it, shards flying everywhere._

 _I didn't stop there._

 _I started smashing and breaking everything that I could get my hands on, stopping only when I ran out of things to destroy._

 _My went numb knees and I fell on them, streams of tears poring on my face._

 _Was what I asked for really too much? To be appreciated for my talents? A little acknowledgment? That what I did wasn't pointless? That I wasn't a failure?_

 _I just stared at the room, no particular target, simply staring at the air, not noticing that someone was at the entrance._

'' _I take it I dropped at a bad time.'' She commented stoically as she looked around the room._

'' _What do you want?'' was all I managed to half-whisper at her, my voice tired from all the screaming I did when I trashed the room._

'' _Truthfully. I came here to make you an offer.'' She walked carefully towards me, avoiding the pieces of broken glass that were all over the floor. ''However I will refrain from doing it at the moment.''_

 _Although i felt like a broken doll and didn't want to see let alone talk to anybody, I still managed to ask her. ''Why?''_

 _She began searching for something in her bag when I asked. ''You are clearly shaken and not in the best condition to make life changing decisions.''_

 _She pulled out a weird piece of paper. It was the first time when I saw one in person, but I recognized what it was. It was among my lessons about other supernatural beings. ''A summoning pamphlet?'' I asked a bit surprised but my face probably said otherwise. I understood what the girl with the glasses in front of me was. ''You're a devil.''_

'' _So you know what I am, this certainly makes things easier.'' She wasn't surprised or worried of the fact that I knew what she was, she simply put the piece of paper in front of me and proceded to walk away, turning her head around and giving one last look before she did. ''You can try summoning me when you are feeling better. Or not, the choice is yours.''_

 _And she walked away._

 _A week passed since then or maybe it was two, I honestly didn't count. Every night I stared at the pamphlet, wondering what I should do._

 _Should I summon her? Should I ignore her?_

 _Eventually I calmed down, and decided to go with it. It went well so to say. I managed to summon her and listen to her offer._

 _The reason why she was in the crowd of the tournament in the first place was because she was scouting for potential members to join her peerage. She wanted me to become her Knight._

 _I was certain that she figured out who I was, so I told her if she was expecting any of the techniques taught by my family she could forget it, as I was unable to use them._

'' _Actually...'' she stopped me from my ranting and told me that she wasn't aware of who I was when she handed me the pamphlet. So I asked her why is it that she wanted me join her._

 _She basically explained to me a lot of stuff about potential, possibilities and a lot of serious stuff, a lot of which I didn't really give that much attention at the time, but it was her next answer that I would never forget as long as I live._

'' _Also because I find your swordsmanship beautiful.'' Those were her words. A very simple phrase, yet those words affected me beyond my control, words so powerful that I didn't notice that my face was in tears. ''It's far from flawless, but I see a lot of potential in it. I could help you reach heights you never imagined, that is of course if you truly want it.''_

 _Perhaps she was saying those words out of respect, perhaps she was saying them to lure and convince me to join her, and yet... I didn't care._

 _I felt happy._

* * *

''It was after my tears finally stopped that I accepted her offer.'' Meguri shook her head to the side, pulling back a strand of her hair backwards, a trace of melancholy present in her eyes. ''Obviously my parents and the other members of the clan didn't take it well, so I had to cut all ties with them and leave.''

So that was her reason... earning the approval of her family. Yet, no matter what she did she never earned that approval, all the blood, sweat and pain she endured for their sake was never repaid and it led to her walking on the path of a devil.

She finally found someone who valued the one thing she wanted her family to praise her for. She was offered the closure that all those years she sacrificed in her pursuit of mastering the sword weren't just a waste of time.

While it may sound absurd to others, I can understand at some level the felling of wanting to belong with your family.

There were more times than I can remember that I felt out of place when it comes to my family, maybe it because I was adopted, maybe it was because I am different from them on both a physical appearance and a different way of thinking, but they never treated anything like how Meguri's family treated her.

I grew up surrounded by a kind and affectionate family. The life that they offered me, I'm not sure if I can ever repay them, but one things for sure.

I will protect them.

 _Even if it kills me._

I took a deep breath and looked at Meguri.

''Do you regret it?'' I slowly asked, my chin resting in the palm of my hand. ''Choosing becoming a devil over your family?''

''No.'' she certainly surprised me with how she answered without a moment to spare, no trace of doubt present in her voice at all. ''I still care about them even if we had a rough relationship, but until I joined Kaichou I wasn't really living for my sake, everything I did was for theirs.''

''The life of a devil isn't all pleasure and freedom, it can be very painful sometimes, but I'm happy the way things are now.'' She leaned against her chair, her eyes softening as she stared at her palms. ''I may have lost a family in the process, but in return I got friends that appreciate me and I learned how to be happy.''

If everyone was a little on the edge when the 'talking about your past' discussion first began, they were now relaxed and brightened at Meguri's words.

Perhaps I'm looking too deep into it, but maybe she acts all excited and childish because she is trying to make up for the time lost as a child. Who knows?

''All righty, enough about me!'' the teams knight clapped her hands together and beamed at everyone with a smile. ''Who's next?!''

The weight of the air seemed to increase once more, but it was much lighter than last time. No one seemed to step up, the silence was so great I could hear from my seat the sound of the water slowly dripping from the tap of the sink.

The one to break the status quo was Kusaka with a tired sigh. ''Might as well do it in a clock wise order...''

Everyone took a moment to think about her idea, each of them eventually nodding in agreement.

Kusaka tapped her fingers lightly on the table, an awkward smile present on her face. ''Well my reason was a bit more selfish then yours Tomoe.''

''How so?'' Hanakai asked her fellow bishop.

She fidgeted for a few moments, eyes nervously looking left and right, a dry chuckle escaped her lips as she awkwardly played with one of her braids. ''... I did it for money.''

My jaw felt like it unhinged for a moment, dropping slightly as I stared at the braid sporting Bishop. It also seemed that I wasn't the only one with this kind of reaction, the others looking similar to me in terms of shock. Saji for one had the most awkward stare. ''Money really?''

She nodded shyly, her cheeks reddening. ''Yep. For money.''

Although I shouldn't judge people, the edge of my mouth twitched rather strongly. ''Umm... Would you be so kind and detail what you mean by that?''

''Sure. I guess it happened a few years back.''

* * *

 _One could say that the source of my problems was my family as well._

 _I don't really have any memories of my father, in fact the only reason why I know how he even looks like is because of the photos my mother has of him, but that's all. I don't know what kind of person he was, but if I were to take my mother's words, he was a kind man._

 _He may have been, but I couldn't know._

 _After all he died in a car crash when I was far too little to understand what's was going on._

 _That was when the trouble began._

 _My mother tried her best to make a living so we both could have a proper life. She tried her best to do so, but it wasn't easy._

 _She married right after finishing high school and never went to college, so her job options were rather limited. But even so she tried her best so I wouldn't miss out on anything._

 _As I was growing up, my mother would come back home from her shift and check on me if I was sleeping, and during the times when I wasn't she would stay with me until I did, even though she herself was exhausted._

 _There were so many times I would see her return home so tired and ask her if she was ok. She always had the same answer._

'' _I'm fine sweetie.''_

 _She would always say those three words with the same warm yet tired smile, and I would always believe her._

 _I was dead wrong._

 _I was just a child, I didn't understand just where she was heading with the way she handled things._

 _But it all came to light two years ago._

 _I was just sitting in class, listening to the boring lesson until I was called in the teacher's room. They received a call from the local hospital._

 _My mother collapsed at work._

 _She had a heart attack._

 _In that moment I felt like something broke in me as it all became clear to me._

 _I rushed to the hospital without any moment to waste. Ignoring any calls from my teachers, bumping into people on the street, not once stopping to look or apologize, no thoughts present in my mind with the exception of getting to the hospital._

 _When I got there and saw my mother in her hospital room I felt like someone began squeezing my heart violently._

 _There she was, my mother who was always smiling no matter how difficult or grim things seemed, the always bright person in my life... she sat in that bed connected to so many medical devices I didn't know what they were, her eyes closed and her usual kind smile all gone._

 _As I stared at her with tears forming in my eyes, a doctor called out to me and explained to me what just happened._

 _My mother overworked herself._

 _Due to years of continuously pushing herself, not having proper sleeping hours, irregular eating, and overall stress, she developed a serious heart condition._

 _She eventually woke up and managed to put herself back on her feet, but it was already too late. The damage done to her heart was already done, and there wasn't any going back._

 _It was all matter of time before her heart stopped functioning completely._

 _The doctors put her on a waiting list. Her only chance was to receive a heart transplant._

 _It was here that things truly got difficult._

 _My mother wasn't allowed to work, otherwise she risked getting another heart attack._

 _So we were faced with a problem at that moment. How were we live without a stable income?_

 _I felt angry... at myself._

 _If only I would have noticed earlier, perhaps things wouldn't have ended like this, perhaps my mother didn't have to go through that painful ordeal._

 _I took matters into my own hands and decided to take care of my mother._

 _She was against it of course, saying that I should focus on school and my life, saying that a child shouldn't start working and taking care of the parent._

 _I put my foot down and told my mother that I want to help her. After a lot and I mean a lot of convincing, my mother finally agreed._

 _Clearly controlled by my emotions, I was blind to how difficult the real world truly was. I did manage to find a job as waitress, but it certainly wasn't easy. The job itself was well paid but it was very tiring, and trying to manage it together with my school life was challenging._

 _I used to go straight to work after school was over. After my shift was done and I got home, I would fight my fatigue and start learning and writing my homework for the next day._

 _I somehow managed to have a somewhat stable income. My salary, combined with my tips and my scholarship somehow was able to cover our expenses._

 _While I did managed to get used to this new lifestyle there was something I was missing out... My own personal life._

 _There were many times when my classmates would invite me to hang out after classes, get to know me better and all, but I just didn't had the time. I didn't tell anyone about my situation, so they didn't knew my reason, so they could only make assumptions to why I was behaving that way. Their conclusions... weren't very nice._

 _People can be really fast to judge things that they don't understand. They would say that I am some kind of smug girl that thought she was too good to hang out with the others... and that was one of the more nice rumors._

 _It hurt. It hurt so bad to be judged that way, not knowing the story behind a person's reason and actions._

 _But the thought that I might lose my mother if I stopped hurt way more, so I swallowed the bitter pill and endured it._

 _There were times when exhaustion would hit me like a hammer, falling asleep during classes, getting scolded by the teachers because of it._

 _I recall that one time I actually fell asleep while resting against a window in the school halls. I could have fallen down from it and seriously injured myself, if it weren't for someone waking me up._

'' _Are you ok?'' was what she asked me as she arranged her glasses._

 _Even though I was still half asleep, I instantly recognized who it was and froze in fear because of it. ''N-No, I'm fine Shitori-senpai! Just a little tired.'' I desperately waved my hands, hoping that this situation won't get me a detention._

 _She however didn't reply at first, and instead looked at me from head to toe. A tired sigh escaped her lips. ''While the bags under your eyes and the shade of your skin is telling me otherwise, I will leave it at that.''_

 _I stood in place as I watched her turn around and walk away, but not before she gave me one last piece of advice. ''In all seriousness though, please try to take care of yourself, otherwise it might get out of hand one day.''_

 _As one could imagine I didn't listen to her advice._

 _And it came back to bite me a few months later when I collapses in the classroom._

 _When I woke up I was in the hospital, my mother next to my bed with the most pained expression I ever saw from her._

 _It turns out that the complication my mother suffered from wasn't simply from accumulated factors, there were also hereditary factors involved._

 _I was by no means in the same state my mother was, but if I kept living the way I did, chances were I would end just like her. There were many weird and difficult medical terms that the doctors used when they explained this to me, but from what I understood because I was still growing and my body wasn't fully developed it was affecting me faster than a normal adult._

 _I felt beyond frustrated. What were we gonna do now that the doctors told me that I can't work anymore?_

 _When I was discharged and returned to school I was called to the student council room. I assumed it concerned me passing out in my classroom._

'' _It seemed you didn't listen to my advice.'' That was the first thing she told me as I took a seat in front of her._

 _For the following minutes, Shitori-senpai would read reports about what happened that day, about the results of my medical records, but also records concerning my mother._

 _When she finished she had just one question. ''What do you plan of doing now?''_

 _I just sat in silence, I truly didn't have any clue about what I could do in this situation._

 _She seem to notice my behavior and began reading from another file. ''The reports state that even if your mother did receive a heart transplant she will need a long period of treatment and medication afterwards in order for her to make a proper recovery and live a normal life, which judging by your income isn't something you can afford.''_

 _Her words made me feel even grimmer, I already knew that but I tried to stay positive, believing that I will manage somehow... or at least that was before I was told I can't work anymore._

'' _These are serious matters Kusaka-san. While I do admire your love and dedication to your mother, you must realize that this situation is also ruining your life.''_

 _I don't why... but I snapped at her. ''Do you think I don't know?!'' perhaps it was all the build-up stress, but I kept on screaming at her. ''Do you think I enjoy this?! I can't even remember how it feels to just go out with friends and have fun without having to worry about the next day!''_

 _I buried my hands in my face, trying to hide my tears from the world. ''Is it really so wrong to sacrifice some of your happiness for the sake of someone you love?!''_

'' _I know it's wrong... I know it hurts me... but I don't want to lose my mother... not like this... not when I could have done something to save her.'' My voice already began cracking, the salty tears flowing between the openings of my fingers._

 _The only sounds in the room were my sobs, the girl in front of me was silent as she stared at my trembling form. After about a minute of pondering she finally decided to speak._

'' _What if I told you there was a way to save both yourself and your mother?''_

'' _H-Huh?'' was all I managed to ask between sobs._

 _She then told me everything. About devils, peerages and her offer._

 _She had a lot of connections and she could arrange for my mother to get the transplant immediately, not only that, but she would also give me a monthly payment that covers our expenses and would allow us to live a proper life without us worrying about working._

 _It seemed just too good to be true. My problems would be solved and I could actually start to live my own life, make friends and memories from my high school years. Again... it seemed way too good to be true._

'' _Why help me of all people?'' I didn't realized it or why the hell was I even saying this since it could ruin everything, but I asked anyway. ''There are certainly people more in need than me in this world, with situations much difficult than mine... and yet why would you help me?''_

 _She narrowed her eyes at my question. Her sharp gaze really used to scare me at that time._

'' _Don't misunderstand me Kusaka-san, I don't go out of my way and help those in need out of the goodness of my heart, I'm not a humanitarian.'' She explained to me in all professional manner, feeling like I was doing an interview with the big boss of a company. ''Your dedication is what impressed me, its hard to find someone with even a fifth of the one that you displayed, and I find it outrageous to leave someone with so much potential go by.''_

'' _The choice is yours Kusaka Reya. Instead of thinking what the correct answer, the morale one is, think about what you yourself truly want.''_

 _Her words made me more confused than I was before. What I wanted for myself..._

* * *

''I asked her to give me some time to think about things over, before I gave her a final answer. In the end I accepted her offer and became her first Bishop.''

I took and moment and processed everything.

So that's what she mean by 'she did it for money'. I'm not sure what to think about this... I grew up with a rather good financial situation, so I can't really empathize with her choice.

Yet if I were in her place I would've probably done the same. If by some unfortunate situation Iri ended in a similar position like Kusaka's mother was, and there was something I could have done to save her, I would've done whatever was in my power to save her. Even if it meant selling my soul.

Sacrificing oneself for the happiness of another... it sounded so familiar.

''Reya/Reya-chan/Kusaka-senpai.'' My trail of thought was cut off when Hanakai, Meguri and Nimura all tackled the braided Bishop, all of them crashing comically on the floor in the process.

''That was one of biggest tear jerker's I ever heard!'' Meguri sobbed as she starred in her eyes.

''To think that you suffered so much for the sake of your mother!'' Nimura muffled from Kusaka's chest, which she was currently snuggling her face in.

''I'm supposed to be your best friend and yet I didn't know how much you went through! I'm so sorry Reya!'' Hanakai cried as she rubbed her face against her fellow Bishops.

Kusaka for one appeared rather taken back by the sudden rush of affection from comrades, but nevertheless she smiled and offered all of them a warm hug.

Now that I think about it... Kusaka and I have been classmates since our freshmen year, and she didn't interact with the other classmates during the first year, always appearing sleepy and tired.

That one time she passed out was a big gossip when it happened. We weren't anything besides simple classmates but I was concerned for her when she fainted in our class.

I didn't know the reason behind it at the time... guess everything makes sense now.

''Girls...'' I began, my mouth in a perfect straight line, finger pointing to Kusaka. ''I don't think she can breathe like that.''

After hearing that all of the hugging team looked at her and noticed how blue her face was. The very next second they were back at their seats, Yura chuckling at their antics. ''All of that aside... I'm surprised Reya, you always are the calm girl that reads book in her free time, I never thought that you went through all of that.''

''Believe me its fine, really. It's all in the past now.'' She smiled gently at us. ''I know that my mother wouldn't approve of what I did, selling my soul for her sake, but it was all worth it.''

''It's like it was she was the one who got reincarnated, not me. Seeing her all healthy and bright makes all the pain of becoming a devil may cause me in the future all worth it.''

Seeing her smile like that, it shows that she doesn't regret a thing. Even if her choice may seem wrong to other people, as long as she content with it then I have nothing else to say.

''Well I'm next.'' I glanced at Hanakai, the white haired bishop had her arms crossed as she looked at us. ''Now then... the reason I joined was because I wanted to be seen for who I was.''

* * *

 _The main reason why I chose to become a devil was also due to family issues, but not because they mistreated me like Tomoe's case or went through difficult times like in Reya's case. It was because my family was overprotective._

 _I was born and raised in the Hanakai family, one of the strongest Yakuza groups in Japan. My father was the current head of group, which basically made the little princess of the organisation so to say._

 _Growing up surrounded by yakuza men wasn't exactly as crazy or dangerous as one would expect. As the daughter of the boss, the men wouldn't dare lay a finger on me or intentionally put me in any form of danger. In fact the members were pretty decent men, many of them acting like older brothers and uncles to me. Heck, there were times I thought we were just one really big and weird family._

 _However there were some drawbacks due to my position._

 _My father... as much as love him, he unfortunately is a hard headed person and once he decides about something it's almost impossible to make him change his mind. This is why when he decided that I needed protection things started to turn bad._

 _Going to school and back home, I would always have a group of men waiting for me to escort me. I didn't mind the act itself, but what truly affected me was how people saw me._

 _There are groups of yakuza that partake in many 'shady' businesses I won't deny that, but the group led by my father wasn't one of them. However people are quick to judge before they do any research, so everyone that knew me was aware that I was involved with a yakuza group would avoid me like plague. The fact that most of the men in the group are covered in scars, large tattoos and have overall scary faces didn't help._

 _I felt lonely._

 _The feeling of people being afraid of you over something you can't control. To get labelled before you even got a chance to talk and show them the other side of the story. It was infuriating._

 _I hoped that perhaps things would change when I got into high school, that it would get better now that I started a new phase in life._

 _I was so wrong._

 _It was all the same. People labeling me before even giving me a chance to prove otherwise, eyes filled with unjustified fear._

 _Slowly, it was building up in me, a hatred for my family and the unfair society._

 _Everything really went from bad to worse one day when I was waiting for the men to come and pick me up._

 _As I was waiting by the school gate, a group of boys from a different school passed by and saw me. Not knowing who I was, they started hitting on me._

 _I simply refused and tried to ignore them, they didn't take it too well. When they saw that words didn't work, they decided to try a more physical approach. I tried to get away, but one of the boys had a really strong grip and I couldn't escape._

 _I don't know if it was good or bad luck, but the men just arrived and witnessed everything and they certainly didn't take it well._

 _It happened so fast that I don't remember much of how it actually happened, but I do remember how at the end of it all of the boys were lying on the ground beaten up to a bloody pulp._

 _What happened that day only justified the beliefs of the people who feared me._

 _Those boys, as much as I hate to admit were quite the actors. They made it look like it was all my fault, that I sicked my men on them and turned them black and blue._

 _If things were difficult before, things have escalated afterwards._

 _I recall once bumping into a student, the latter dropping his book. When I picked it up and give it back to him, the moment he saw me he panicked and ran, saying that I could keep it._

 _At that time I felt like things were just falling apart._

 _Was it that hard for a little understanding from my family and the people around me?_

 _That was what I was thinking when I was called to the student council office._

 _Standing in front of Shitori-senpai was more nerve-wracking that I could have imagined. Don't know what was exactly scary about her, I mean she is such a petite girl. Maybe it was the glasses._

'' _I'm waiting.'' Was the first thing she told ever since I entered the office, her voice certainly wasn't anything close to calming or reassuring._

'' _F-For what?'' I mutter awkwardly, it wasn't enough that things were escalating beyond any control, but now I may even end up suspended from school._

'' _I'm waiting for your part of the story.'' She told me as she pulled small pile of papers, which she put in front of me. ''From these reports it states that you were the one who provoked the boys, and when things didn't go as you intended you made the men working under your father 'teach' them a lesson. ''_

'' _N-No that's wrong!'' I tried to protect myself, yet my half-hearted voice didn't make things easier._

 _She wasn't startled by my sudden snap, and instead pushed the paper on the side and place her elbows on the desk, resting her chin over her hands. ''I'm listening then. Understand this Hanakai-san, I'm trying to help you, even though I may as well trust these papers. So please help me out here and let me hear how what really happened.''_

 _I don't know why, but I started biting my lips. Was it because I was mad at this whole situation? Or was it because I was happy that she was willing to listen to me?_

 _I tried my best to explain my situation to her, telling her how it actually happened and why my father's men beat them up like that. It felt a bit awkward telling her everything, secretly fearing that she might think I am inventing most of the stuff so that I can make her feel sorry for me and take my side._

 _When I was done she said the last thing that I expected. ''Very well. I will help you sort things out.''_

 _For a few moments my mind seemed to crash, wondering if I did heard that right. I thought it was only a joke or she was doing out of her obligation as student council president._

'' _P-Please do...'' was all I managed to mutter as I looked at the floor of the room, hoping that my bangs can hide my teary eyes._

 _The following week was certainly odd. The boys that were involved in the scandal were called to the student council office for a 'special talk' with Kaichou. When the talk was over, the first they did was go to the police station and drop all charges while admitting that the whole fiasco was their fault._

 _They even went and apologized to the student body for the inconvenience that they caused, all while personally apologizing to me, head touching the ground as the prostrated themselves._

 _To say that I saw speechless was the understatement of the year._

'' _You don't seem very happy even though the problem has been solved.'' Those were Kaichou's words when we met to discuss the end results of the situation. I should've been happy that everything was cleared, that I was no longer in the risk of suspension... but I wasn't._

'' _This was only one of my problems.'' I slowly began and explained to her. Although this misunderstanding has been cleared, it wasn't the same situation for my previous ones. People still avoided me, in fact this whole situation made things even worse, although I should have been happy at that time I wasn't because I knew that my life didn't change too much._

'' _I see.'' Was her response as she narrowed her eyes at me. ''Then tell me. What do you plan on doing in this situation?''_

 _I didn't answer and just stared at her. I was back to square one... and didn't honestly knew what I should do._

'' _I'm curious.'' Her words broke me out of my depressed thinking, an analyzing look present in her eyes. ''What if I told you I could give you chance to start things over?''_

'' _C-Come again?'' was all I managed to mutter._

 _The next few minutes were spent on her explaining everything to me about devils, evil pieces and peerages, about the supernatural world itself and how she would like for me to join her as her new Bishop._

 _I honestly didn't know what to say until she told me what her so called 'start things over' plan consisted of. Apparently devils were able to manipulate and erase memories. While she couldn't do it at a large scale such as completely erasing a person memories, she could do something along the lines of erasing the memories about a person that doesn't hold an import place in ones memories. The fact that I didn't have any friends in fact helped, and she could erase everyone's memories about me, and I could start over things from scratch._

 _Even with this tempting offer I still wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, what the right answer was. At least that was until she told me those words._

'' _Before you make any decisions, let me make something clear Hanakai-san. I'm not giving you a brand new life, but rather I'm offering you the potential for one. It's up to you how it turns out, what you truly desire for yourself, it could end the same, it could be vastly different, the only ones who decides how you want to live is you. ''_

 _I never been struck by lightning in my life, but the sensation that hit me after I processed her words certainly felt like it. How blind could I have been all these years?_

 _The answer was there all along, right in front of me, so simple that it was ridiculous. However... even it was simple, it wasn't something many would call an easy task._

 _There was one thing that I was supposed to do._

 _Fight._

 _All this time I've been avoiding my problems, never truly facing them the proper way._

 _The real answer was to fight for the things that I truly desired, not just kinda want them with a half-baked resolution. I had to stay tall and face my problems head on, accepting any pains or risks that came with them, not letting them pass by and hope that time will fix everything._

 _I had to take attitude and fight for what I wanted._

 _In that moment I decided._

'' _You're right.'' I told Shitori-senpai. ''I finally have an answer.''_

 _No more running away from my problems._

 _During my last night as a human I stared in the mirror for hours. Perhaps it was stupid to think so, but I wanted to do something to remind me of this choice, to see whenever I feel like going back to my old ways and remind myself to fight on._

 _A small smile formed on my face as an idea came to my mind._

 _A few hours later I stared at my new dyed hair. While I didn't dislike my old black one, I couldn't help but admire my new white hair. Maybe it was a little weird to dye it for something like this, but there are people who cut it short, get tattoos or piercings when they want to mark a life changing decisions._

 _Small chuckles escaped my lips as I looked at myself._

 _No more looking back and running away._

 _Only moving forward, no matter what._

* * *

Anxiety... That was the base of her reason.

Due to how people misunderstood her due to her family's background she had to deal with the anxiety of being avoided as if she was dangerous, treated like a threat, making her feel like it was better if she didn't exist.

It may sound like a petty reason, but there's no way one who didn't go through similar circumstances can understand her and judge her for her choice. That's why I won't as well. Although...

''There was something amiss in what you told us.'' I decided to address the problem. ''If your father was overprotective, wouldn't he do the same as before even after you became a devil?''

There was a visible twitch in from her left eye. ''Well... I might have just implanted a small directive in his head via hypnosis to trust me more and lessen his protection.''

Similar to her, now my left eye twitched. Perhaps it would best if I just stopped there, letting only a tired sigh escape my mouth. ''I hope you aren't making a habit out of it.''

''Of course not!'' She slammed her hands on the table in indignation, the cups on it almost falling down. ''I know my father wants the best for me but he needed to understand that the way things were it was only making it bad for. I didn't feel good about doing it but he needed a jolt in order to understand that I'm not the same little girl that can't take care of herself. The moment I took the decision to be a devil was time I decided to stop running away and fight for what I want, even if it meant that I have to resume to underhanded ways like this.''

I could only stare at her. Although she knows that what she did may have been wrong, she isn't doing it recklessly and is accepting the repercussion of her actions.

To me it never mattered what people thought about me, so I can't really relate to her. However Mitsuzuri did once tell me that I should be more careful with the way I help people without any personal interest, telling me that some people may find it weird.

A dry cough got my attention, Saji looking intrigued at our bishop. ''So wait, you dyed your hair white?''

''Pretty much, but you have to admit I look pretty good like this.'' She nodded with a smile, flipping her hair backwards in a swift motion.

Kusaka tilted her head slightly and pressed her finger on her lower lip. ''I always thought you did because you were a fan of that idol that's been getting really popular recently. What was her name again? Takane Shijou was it?''

Meguri's eyes widened as she heard this. ''Wait seriously?''

The now revealed faux white head seemed to shrink a little from all the stares she was getting from the others, her index fingers playing with each other as her cheeks gained a red shade in them. ''... I may have gotten a little inspiration from her.''

I decided to stay out of the discussion since I had no clue about who they were talking about, instead it seemed that Nimura took my place. ''Huh... now that you mention it, you do look a lot like her. Actually, put some purple contact lenses and you can pose as her stage double.''

''Nah it wouldn't work.'' Yura commented as she crossed her arms.

''How come?'' Kusaka inquired.

Yura closed her eyes and was silent for a few seconds, when she opened her eyes there was nothing but pure unadulterated seriousness present in them. ''Her boobs are bigger.''

I was surprised that I didn't fell off my chair from that remark, the others however seemed ok and proceeded to stare at our white haired bishop chest, Meguri nodding seriously as she did. ''Yep, you're right.''

It would seem I made the right call to stay out of this discussion, and it was clear that Hanakai didn't enjoy having her chest the subject of this little chat judging by the shade of red that was present on her face. ''... Can we please move on?''

Saji for one clicked his tongue in annoyance, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. ''Damn, just when the girls began talking about boobs.''

Shinra-senpai on the other hand threw a sharp stare towards the blond pawn. ''No perversions allowed Saji.''

Everyone turned to the twin tailed pawn at the end of the table, Nimura tilting her head confused to why she was the target of everyone's attention.

''Right... I'm next.'' Nimura nodded awkwardly, taking a deep breath in an attempt to relax. ''I guess I joined because I didn't want to give up on my passion.''

* * *

 _If we're talking about where everything started, in my case it all began when I was just seven years old when my body started felling like it was sore, my legs and arms hurting slightly so I didn't really gave it to much importance, but that was just the beginning._

 _The disease triggered unexpectedly. My joints started to swollen and turn bright red, and eventually I couldn't walk anymore. My parents took me to the hospital the very moment I told them that I can't walk._

 _The doctors had a rough time discovering the source of my affection, as time passed things got more and more unbearable for me, almost all of my joints got stuck, my mobility reducing to a mere fifteen percent of what it normally should have been, even the slightest move I did would case me unimaginable pain._

 _After what seemed like an eternity to me, they managed to track down the cause. It was a form of chronic disease that affected all of the joints, but the problem was that it was usually found in elderly people, and it was extremely rare for a child my age to develop it._

 _If left unattended it will keep attacking my joints until all mobility is lost and eventually I will become paralyzed without any hope of ever moving again._

 _The worst part was that the disease didn't have a treatment. There wasn't any medicine, treatment or operation that could cure it, and I will have to life my whole life with it._

 _There were only ways to cope with it, with proper medication and sport. This was only meant to keep it under control, not treat it, so the moment I stopped the disease will begin attacking me again._

 _Calling it difficult was a nice way to put it. I was just a kid and didn't properly understood what was going on, to why my mother began crying when the doctors told her the news._

 _I was given a list of sports to choose from that could help me cope with the disease. I never really saw myself as a sports person, so I chose the one thing that sounded interesting._

 _Ballroom dancing was what I choose._

 _I went through both physical and mental pain as I grew up. Daily taking medication and practicing dance to keep my joints in shape. Sometimes regretting that I chose dance since I wasn't exactly really great at it, and many times it cause me so many frustrations as I couldn't keep learn the same ways the others did, and with joint pain resurfacing at the most unappropriated moments, I just didn't knew if I could go on._

 _Eventually years have passed and I somewhat got used to this life style, gaining a sort of balance how to handle my condition. Perhaps it was because I practiced dancing out of necessity rather than a hobby like other kids did I became more immersed in it, developing proper skills and coordination that others just seemed to be born with._

 _At my dancing coach's suggestion I entered several dancing competitions, partnering up with different kids from our dancing group, trying different styles of dancing along the way, developing a fondness for the jive dance style, making it my main style._

 _When it came to the competitions I was never a first place holder, but I did usually end up in the top five. Perhaps I would've won first place if the pain didn't keep surfacing the worst moment._

 _But it didn't bother me, I wasn't in it for the prize._

 _I thought I was keeping the disease under control, that although the pain kept resurfacing from time to time, I managed to fight it._

 _Yet everything came crushing one day._

 _It was the summer before I started high school, I recall every detail, the burning yet clouded summer day, I was returning home from dance practice like I always did, stopped by a local store to buy an ice cream, strolled a little near the shopping district, took a weird pamphlet from a cosplaying girl that was handing them to everyone, and helped an old lady with directions._

 _The rain began pouring strongly, I didn't have any umbrella so I tried to run fast back home before I got soaked._

 _That was my mistake._

 _The rain shortly evolved into a storm, the water getting in my eyes as I ran, making me fail to see that the lights at the crosswalk changed. I don't think that I saw it, but I remember the sound of wheels screaming on the road._

 _Everything that came next was darkness and excruciating pain._

 _When I woke up I was in a hospital. The first thing I noticed was that my legs felt weird, the moment I glanced I wished I didn't do it. They were both patched up and hanged in slings above the bed._

 _I was sore, scared, confused and hurt by what was going on. While I busy thinking about what happened a doctor came to check me out together with my parents who were both panicking._

 _The answers I feared came from the doctor. I was caught in a car accident, the weather hindered the driver from properly stopping the car and in the end it hit me full front._

 _While the impact wasn't lethal or with any head injuries it still left a deep trauma on me, perhaps more mental than physical._

 _My legs got critically damaged... Chances were I might never walk again._

 _Even if I were to make a recovery, I could never perform complicated or exhausting movement, meaning I could never dance again._

 _At first it was just a chore, something I had to do regardless if I wanted or not because I had to do it if not my health would have deteriorated. There were moments when I hated it, the pain getting the better of me, making me want to just quit and give up trying again._

 _That was what I felt in the beginning... but it all changed._

 _The more I practiced, learning step by step, finding the charm and beauty in dance it started to grow on me, no longer feeling like a chore for me, slowly becoming something I enjoyed._

 _I fell in love with dancing._

 _And now it was all gone._

 _I didn't talk to the doctor or my parents. I just cried in my palms._

 _The days kept going by and I just sat in my hospital bed not knowing what i could do anymore, mostly ignoring the doctors and my parents. I barely ate anything, I just didn't have any appetite._

 _Everything was getting grim, the pain in my joints started surfacing from all the days of inactivity I spent in the hospital._

 _I was just so lost._

 _One night I couldn't sleep, I tried reaching for the phone in my bag, maybe I could call my parents and talk a little. As I searched in my bag I found a pamphlet with a blue circle on it. My eyes went wide as I recalled what the girl I got it from told me._

 _That if I have strong enough desire this piece of paper could help me grant it._

 _I laughed, but it was in a trembling voice. Look at me, believing such nonsense, stuff like that only happened in fiction._

 _Perhaps it was because i was so emotionally broken that I wanted to believe it was real. My tears started flowing once more, dripping on the pamphlet._

 _I didn't care about a treatment for my disease anymore, I just didn't want to give up on my passion. If there were a way to around it... I would do anything._

 _Although my eyes burned from the tears that kept flowing, they went wide open when the pamphlet began glowing in a bright blue light. Not understanding what was going on I instantly panicked and threw it away._

 _The moment it landed on the ground, the circle on it seemed to grow and manifest on the ground, illuminating the whole room. The light eventually became too bright for my eyes to handle and I had to close them._

 _When I opened them I was very confused, as an unknown girl was now in the room standing where the circle used to be. Her expression was stoic, her purple eyes carefully scanning me, her mouth slightly opened as she saw my legs._

'' _Greetings, I have responded to your summoning.'' She took a few steps closer, allowing me to get a better look at her face. ''My name is Sona Sitri, a devil.''_

 _If it weren't for the fact that the girl in front of me just appeared out of nowhere and made those bat like wing erupt out of her back, I would have told her she was crazy._

 _For a moment I was tempted to press the alarm button next to my bed, but something in me stopped me, and instead made me ask the so called devil something that has been haunting me for the past days. ''Is there any chance I can be healed?''_

 _She didn't respond at first, she instead took a nearby chair and sat next to my bed. The following hour we talked. I told her about my situation, how it all started and how I ended in my current position._

 _She nodded and was silent for a few moments, pondering on what to say to me. Her eyes seemed to sharpen, as if she tried to stare into my mind. ''There might be a way to heal you, not just your legs but also your disease as well.''_

 _My eye went wide, a sensation of pure euphoria filling my body as I was about to jump out of my bed in excitement. However I stopped when I saw her raise her hand. ''Wait.''_

 _That single word was enough to calm me down and remember how serious the current discussion was and what the girl in front of me was. ''I said there might be a way, but I didn't say it comes for free.''_

'' _What you're asking for isn't something simple, it will come at a price, so I ask of you what are you willing to do in order make it happen.'' The air around her seemed to chill from the serious look she was giving me._

 _This was it. A part of me was scared, yet another wasn't. Perhaps I was reckless, perhaps I was being completely foolish, but I knew what I wanted, and I wasn't going to let my sole chance escape._

'' _Anything.'' I muttered in a tired yet resolute tone that made the girl in front of raise an eyebrow in curiosity. ''I will do whatever you ask. Just make it so I don't have to give up on the one thing that I love.''_

 _There was a hint of surprise present on her face, her eyes softening as she watched my broken form. She let out a gentle sigh and waved her to the side, a small glowing circle appearing in the air. From it a set of chess pieces appeared and landed in front of us._

'' _Allow me to tell you about Evil Pieces.''_

* * *

''She told me everything about the devil system and how I could be healed if I became a devil. I was somewhat reluctant, but in the end I accepted. Afterwards I got reincarnated as a pawn, and let me tell you my life made a whole turn from then.''

I narrowed my eyes at the twin tailed pawn, a complex feeling lingering in my mind. She did it because she loved something so much that she sacrificed her humanity in the process. Although she could have simply asked to be healed because she wanted the hardship to end, she did because her passion for dance ran so deep that she couldn't go without it.

Sacrificing yourself for the thing you adore, the thing you believe is the one thing that defies who you are...

It sounds so foreign... yet at the same time it also sounded familiar.

My eyes curiously looked at the other people around the table, surprisingly some of them began crying. More specifically Meguri, Kusaka and Hanakai. Nimura was taken aback by their reaction. ''Ummm, girls?''

''I always took you for such a small and cuddly girl, and I would have never imagined that you went through so much pain.'' Hanakai sniffed as Meguri passed her a tissue, getting rid of the tears in her eyes.

''T-There's no need to cry, everything is fine now. When I became a devil my legs healed, and Kaichou helped me cure my old disease. '' she explained gently while gesturing to her striped green stockings. Now that I took a better look at them, her leg muscles are much more defined than other girls her age, clearly the years of dancing helped them develop to this degree, while not overly muscly they do have a visible tone to them.

Her legs aside, there's something else that matters at the moment, something that I had to ask her. ''You really love dance that much that you traded your humanity for it?''

For a moment she gave me an almost shocked look, as if I just asked something ridiculous, but it was only for a moment as her features softened, a hand placed on her chest as her lips curled into a warm smile. ''Yes, more than anything.''

''It may sound a bit odd to some people, but dance is something that became part of who I am, and I don't want to let go of it no matter what.'' She paused for a moment, her smile becoming a little tense as she rubbed the shoulder that Kurosaiga dislocated. ''Even if meant I have to go through battles and hardships similar to last night.''

I could see it in her eyes. She was content with her decision, no trace of regrets.

I had nothing else to comment.

''Maybe we can all hit a club when we're free and you can show us what moves you got under your belt.'' Yura snickered she grabbed Nimura's head and proceeded to play with her hair.

The pawn blushed and nodded vigorously. ''I would love that!''

''Good girl.'' The bluenette rook chuckled as she let go of Nimura, taking her seat back at the table, narrowing her eyes at the curious group. ''So it's my turn huh?''

''Well mine isn't really emotional, so don't expect anything amazing.'' Yura sighed as she leaned on her chair, her usual amused grin faltering, appearing more calm and relaxed. ''Let's see... the reason I joined was because I got fed up of my life at the time.''

* * *

 _There is one thing that I learned about humans as I grew up, they are quick to judge a person based on their appearance._

 _I wasn't one of those who judged, no, I was the one getting judged by others when it came to my physical appearance._

 _Ever since I was a child I had a severe case of 'weight' problem. A combination of having both of my parents on 'large' side as well as having natural problems with my gland._

 _I couldn't lose weight like normal people did. I constantly had to control my weight, the moment I stopped doing it I would gain back anything I lost with a nasty interest, no matter how much I dieted or worked out. The most I could do is maintain my weight at a level that didn't threaten my health. Yet that didn't mean that my appearance was affected._

 _It didn't help that I had a boyish face, making me lack any charm._

 _I was anything but pleasant to look at._

 _As I grew up I had to deal with constant bullying, getting called nicknames, others laughing at me, it was beyond frustrating._

 _I tried putting up with it, telling myself to ignore them and their stupid comments, but everyone has their limits._

 _Slowly over time it kept building in me, feeling like I could snap at any moment. I thought I could keep it under control, that one day I will find people that will like me regardless of my weight problem._

 _That day never came._

 _It was when I was fourteen that I reached my limit._

 _I still remember it, one day I went out with a group of girls that befriended me at school, telling me how they think I'm funny and interesting, making me believe that we can all be friends. To me that felt like the best day of my life. Me! Who people my age didn't try to befriend, it made me feel so bright._

 _I was so wrong._

 _Truthfully it was the first time I hanged out with girls my age, so I wasn't really sure what to do or expect. When we met up we all went downtown, we all hangout and talked, going through the shopping district, stopping for ice-cream and other normal stuff. It was all new to me but it felt so refreshing. When we took a break on bench they said we should making fun of some guys, somehow convincing me to try and hit on a random guy we saw. I was reluctant, but I wanted to feel accepted, so I tried._

 _Obviously it was disaster._

 _I didn't find the guy really handsome or attractive so it shouldn't have matter if he was interested or not. However it was his reaction that got to me, the way he looked at me with such disgust in his eyes as he rejected me, made me feel like I was some kind of freak._

 _I tried to keep it in, telling myself that it will be ok, that the girls will be there for me._

 _When I returned to tell them how it went I felt like the very ground under me shattered the moment I saw them. Laughing hysterically, holding their cellphones to film, telling me how stupid I was to actually do it._

 _Like a crashing boulder, it hit me hard._

 _It was all a lie. They never wanted to be friends with me, they just wanted to make fun of me, like everybody else._

 _No, this was even worse. The others were at least honest and told me upfront, these girls on the other hand earned my trust only to betray me._

 _Something snapped in me._

 _I ran away in tears. No longer thinking straight, my head filled only with despair and messed up thoughts._

 _As I ran I knocked into someone, both of us landing on the pavement. I only took a moment and looked at her as she picked up her glasses from the ground._

 _I didn't stay to talk or apologize, I just got up and began running again._

'' _Wait, you dropped your phone!'' the girl called out to me, I simply ignored her and kept running._

 _I just ran, no clear destination in mind, I just did it, until I reached a bridge._

 _I don't know what was going on in my mind, it was like I couldn't think properly anymore. All those years of suppressed stress, frustration and bitterness resurfacing at once, completely overcoming me._

 _The wind blew strong as I stood above one of the beams of the bridge, looking down at the water under it._

 _I was hyperventilating, my heart beating like crazy, my vision feeling hazy. I wanted it all to stop, i wanted both the physical and metal pain to just go away. As i stared at the water below me my mind went blank for a moment._

 _I jumped._

 _One moment I was in the air, the next one I was underwater._

 _The water was cold, my body tingling everywhere as if hundreds of needles were stabbing me. I felt my body going deeper in the water, running out of air, I gasped, the taste of murky water invading my mouth as it rushed down my throat and into my lungs._

 _I was drowning._

 _I wanted it to end, I wanted the pain I felt every day to end, to fell at ease, but I didn't want it to end like this. The fear of dying finally caught up to me, the despair filling me just as fast as the water was. Although I wanted it to end, I was scared._

 _Everything was getting dark, my mind going blank as I closed my tired eyes. This was it... the peace I wanted... yet it felt so wrong._

 _Perhaps I was hallucinating, but the water around seemed to become thicker, suddenly pulling me away._

 _I gasped for air, my body rolling around, throwing up the water that invaded my body. I coughed painfully for about a minute. When I calmed down, I looked around and was honestly confused._

 _I was on the river bank near the bridge, a few steps in front of me was the girl that I bumped into earlier. I looked at her hand and she was holding my phone, I knew it was mine by the dog strap in had on it. I probably dropped my phone when I ran into her and she probably caught up to me to return it._

 _When I looked at her face I realized that she was angry at me._

'' _Just what the hell were you thinking?!'' she snapped at me, slamming her foot in the ground. ''You almost drowned out there!''_

 _I tried to speak, my throat feeling sore from choking. ''W-Why? Why did you save me?''_

 _She just stared at me, glaring harshly from begin her glasses. ''Was there any reason why I shouldn't have saved you?''_

 _It didn't make any sense to me. She had no reason to do it yet she still did it. The air around felt like it got thicker, threatening to crush me. ''B-But I'm fat... I'm ugly...''_

 _Her frown increased to the point where she was scaring me. ''Is that a reason why I shouldn't try and save you?'' she told me coldly, gazing down on me, I couldn't speak. ''Is that a reason to try and kill yourself?''_

'' _W-Why do you care?'' I snapped at her, not caring about anything. ''There wasn't any reason for you to save me, and I didn't want to be saved!''_

'' _Really?'' she narrowed her eyes at me, cold violet orbs locked on me like a target. ''Because it looked to me like you were scared of dying.''_

 _I gritted my teeth, my frustration erupting like a volcano. ''Of course I was! Who isn't scared of dying?!''_

'' _Then why did you try to kill yourself?!'' she snapped back at me, making me shrink in front of her._

 _I wanted to shout, but all I could do is whisper. ''...Because I couldn't take it anymore!''_

 _She simply stared at me, her features softening as a long and deep silence surrounded us. ''Do you want to talk about it?''_

 _At first I didn't respond and just sat in silence. After calming for a few minutes I began telling her my problems, nodding stoically and arranging her glasses when I finished. ''I see...''_

'' _I'm sorry but I never went through what you did, so I really don't know what advice I can give you.'' I let out a bitter laugh at her answer, I wasn't expecting her to know what I'm going through, I mean just look at her, so beautiful with such a slim perfect silhouette... there's no way she could understand how I feel. ''So what are planning to do?''_

 _I shook my head desperately, burying my head in my knees. ''I don't know... I don't know.''_

'' _Does it really hurt that much?''_

 _Truthfully I wanted to snark at her for even asking that, but I felt too tired to even try. ''You don't know how it feels to be looked like a freak, getting laughed at like you are some kind of joke of nature.''_

 _She sighed and sat down next to me, her gaze fixed on the flowing water in front of us. ''Have you tried changing?''_

'' _I did... trust I me I tried so badly. Dieting, exercising, alternative treatments, pills, I even tried starving myself, nothing worked.'' I gritted my teeth in frustration. ''My body just isn't meant to be beautiful.''_

 _She didn't look at me and just stared at the water, a solemn state present in her eyes. ''Beauty is a matter of perspective.''_

'' _So you say, but even I find myself as repulsive.'' I chuckled bitterly, even if that were true it really didn't matter, I still couldn't stand to look at myself in the mirror. Tears began forming in my eyes once more. ''All I ever wanted was to feel beautiful... no... I just wanted to feel normal.''_

 _She didn't respond and kept silent for a few minutes as if she was pondering what to do or say next. ''Do you really want it that bad?''_

 _The grip on my knee increased to the point that my fingers hurt, I turned to her making sure she got a good view. ''...Look in my eyes, what do you think?''_

 _Violet orbs kept staring into my blue ones, no once blinking nor once looking anywhere else besides them. After what felt like an eternity of starring, she closed her eyes and sighed tiredly._

'' _What if I could offer you that chance?'' she began slowly, my heart feeling like it slowed stopped for a couple of seconds, my neck turning towards her rigidly. ''If I could help you realize your desire, what would you offer in exchange?''_

 _It was weird indeed, my body felt it was reacting before my brain had the chance to process and dissect everything she told me, to think of the ups and downs or what may result with me accepting, but my lips parted anyway. ''...Anything.''_

 _She looked in my eyes, as if looking for any trace of doubt, or hesitation, but appeared to be looking for nothing. She reached her hand in the air, a chess piece appearing in hand. ''Then I might know a method.''_

* * *

''And as you can see, my little deal with the devil gave me some pretty neat results. That's devil magic to you, it can even change the natural metabolism of one's body to help in weight loss.'' She laughed as she crossed her arms under her chest, yet I can see that everyone else is feeling rather awkward by her story.

The one who stood up and decided to break the ice was Shinra-senpai, the seriousness on her face would have put even the biggest judges to shame. ''Sona was a bit discreet regarding each one of your reasons of joining us, but I would've never imagined that you actually tried to kill yourself Tsubasa.''

The smile on the blue haired rook faltered, but stayed on. ''Yeah... that's not something I'm really proud of talking about, but it's the truth.''

I rested my chin in the palm of my hand. I was never technically a victim of bullying, with the exception of the times I got in trouble because I stood up for people that were getting picked on, I don't have much experience in this.

I always hear about it, people getting bullied and mistreat for all kinds of ridiculous reasons. In the papers, at the news, even in front of my own eyes, it always happens. In most cases it reaches until someone gets hurt, and in the worst cases some people just can't take it anymore and do something reckless... just like how it happened to Yura.

How long had she endured it until it reached the breaking point?

''Just how bad did you look that it made you such an emotional wreck?'' Saji asked skeptically, something telling me that he had a really hard time imagining how her weight problem could drive her suicide. Personally, I was curious as well.

Yura didn't seem to be affected by Sajis question, and reached for her pocket, pulling out her wallet. The very next moment she pulled out a picture from her wallet and put in front of Saji. ''Well this was me before I became a devil.''

The blonde pawn eagerly picked the picture. ''Oh come on, how bad could you- HOLY SHIT!''

I was honestly surprised by the fact that Saji's eye didn't pop out by how much they were gaping. Everyone else seemed to be just as curious as me about Saji's reaction, Meguri in particular sneaked behind him to see what shocked him so bad. ''What's the matter Sa- THE HELL?"

The pictured passed from one hand to another, every time a pair of eyes looked at, the said eyes would bulge in pure and utter shock. It finally reached me.

Huh... guess I understand the others shock. No matter how much I tried I couldn't really imagine Yura looking anything other than her current thin and toned physic, so seeing her like... like _this_ , is pretty eye bulging. It was like watching one of those 'before and after' images at the TV, the kind were you can't imagine that its physically possible that the two people in the pictures are one and the same person. This was pretty much the same case right now.

''Wow Yura... '' Saji chocked on his words, the awkwardness present on his face as he tried to find his words. ''No offence, but you were _really_ fat.''

Normally, going by common sense dictated by the current mind set of the modern high school girl, this was the moment when the said girl felt insulted, and in more serious cases lash out to the one that insulted her for calling her fat. Yura on the other hand crossed her arms under her chest and laughed eagerly. ''Sure was, but now I think I qualify as a hot catch.''

It was curious how upbeat she was about this subject. The way she told us her story showed that she had insecurities besides her looks, her having a hard time believing in others. It makes me wonder if she really changed that much since she became a devil, personality wise. ''I know that it sounds like a vain reason to become a devil, however it isn't as simple as you think. It wasn't that I wanted to be beautiful, I just wanted to feel normal.'' Her gaze drifted in the air, a linger melancholy present in them. ''Sometimes the things people say about you pile up until you end up hating yourself... and that's the first step from doing something reckless.''

She flexed her arm, looking at her palm as it tightened in a fist. ''I used to be such a weak wuss back then. If I met my old self I would probably punch myself in the teeth and tell myself to grow a pair and stop being such a sorry little bitch.'' A half amused chuckled escaped her lips, her eyes drifting in the air. ''I owe Kaichou more than I can ever repay her, she saved me from myself, and with her help I managed to become strong in mind and overcome my problems.''

A large smirk formed on her face. ''For that if anyone ever tries to get into her way, I'll kick their ass!''

As she said, doing it for aesthetic reasons does indeed sound vain for a third party. The idea itself doesn't sound right, but I can't judge, nor do I have that right. To me, my physical aspect was never really something really that concerned me. True I always work out in my free time, but its mostly for keeping myself in good health, it was never anything more than that, to me how I looked was never something that mattered. I couldn't care less if I was fat, skinny or had a perfect toned physic.

So I can't comprehend the amount of stress and frustration she went through. All I can do is respect her decision, and hope she won't regret it one day.

''It's your turn senpai.'' The former fat bluenette flicked her fingers and pointed comically towards the Sitri team's Queen.

''So it seems.'' She nodded slowly, her face the same seriousness she always displays, taking her index finger and pointing at her eyes, noticing the subtle sadness in them. ''Perhaps I should start with this.''

''For those of you who aren't aware devils have perfect eyesight, reincarnated ones aren't an exception, so even if you had horrible eyesight before once you get reincarnated your eyes will get augmented and you will no longer need glasses. Most devils these days wear glasses for fashion reasons, while others because it helps them concentrate.''

''I on the other hand...'' There was a heavy pause as she reached for her glasses, her brown orbs closing as she took them off. We all were curious and confused by her action, especially when she opened them again.

At first there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, but the moment I looked her in the eyes I noticed what she was going on about with the talk about devils not requiring glasses. It seemed that Kusaka was the next one to notice. ''Your eyes...''

''I wear them to mask my uneven eyes.'' She admit with a somewhat shamed tone, her eyes half closed, partially hiding her left violet and her right brown eyes. ''Although eyesight is fixed, the color of the eyes remains the same, regardless if it's the one you're born with or got altered by something else.''

''But what does this has to do with anything?'' Hanakai asked what was probably thought by everyone else at the table.

''It's where everything started.''

* * *

 _Ever since I could remember I always had an unusual fascination towards mirrors. I didn't understand it at first but there was always something that made me stare at mirrors for hours._

 _I was a member of the main branch of the Shinra clan, one of the oldest clans that specialized in the arts of spiritual purification. Because of this I was under the sharp watch of the members of the clan._

 _At first they thought I was just a silly child that didn't really understood what she was doing, simply spending hours starring at mirrors. That's what they thought, yet it wasn't the same for me._

 _It was like starring in at clouds. Although they are nothing but clouds, the more you look at them you can make up a shape and form to them, you can see more beyond what they are._

 _A similar case was for me when it came to mirrors. While I didn't see anything in them besides myself, there was always this feeling in me that there was something more to it than just a mirror._

 _I didn't understand it at first, it was when I was seven that things began to become clearer._

 _One late night I was returning from the bathroom when I noticed a glowing light from one of the old storage's. When I went inside to check it out, I saw an old full body mirror glowing in a pale blue light. It was entrancing, my body getting closer to it on pure instinct. By the time I realized it my fingers were already caressing the mirror._

 _It all happened so fast. One moment I was staring at myself in the mirror, the next moment the sound of a glass shattering and a heart wrenching scream filled the room. Everything that followed was blank as the scare made me faint._

 _Even now after so many years I still get chills down my spines when I remember that mortifying scream._

 _When I woke up the first thing I saw were the pieces of broken glass that were scattered all around me, the scent of incense and purifying salt hovering above, in front of me were the men of the clan, chanting exorcism rites._

 _I was confused, why were they doing that here so late in the night?_

 _The answer came when I looked at the mirror. It was broken, and yet was something else in place of the glass._

 _It was transparent, the creature's body had a shade like with a humanoid form. Its ghostly limbs were tied tightly with praying beads to keep it at bay. No clear features were present on its face, all except for creepy mouth that kept shrieking as the people of the clan were chanting._

 _With a final scream, it went silent. Falling on its knees as its incorporeal body stared to fade in the air._

 _They stopped chanting and let tired sighs as the threat was now gone._

 _One of them saw that I was awake and offered me a gentle smile. ''You gave us quite the scare Tsubaki-chan, what were you even doing here at this hour-''_

 _For some reason the smile on his face dropped the moment he got close and saw my face. Like a domino effect, everyone's expression began changing to a very unpleasant one._

 _I didn't understand why they reacted the way they did, my confusion further increasing as one of them grabbed me by the chin and pulled me closer, lifting my bangs with his free hand._

 _There was a grim silence in the room, fear beginning to flow through me as everyone present was glaring daggers at me._

'' _So that's how it is…'' he whispered in a cold almost emotionless tone, letting go of me and turning his back to me. All of them nodded and followed suit, leaving me there alone._

 _I didn't understand why they acted that way, why they suddenly went from concern to cold just like that._

 _I didn't understand… at least until I saw my reflection in one of the pieces of broken glass on the floor._

 _My left eye changed._

 _It was no longer light brown, instead it was a intense violet._

 _Something about me changed…_

 _The next day I was told what happened._

 _From what I understood, the thing that appeared in the mirror before I passed out was a type of spirit, and it tried to possess me, but failed._

 _My left eye changed as a result of the whole ordeal._

 _However there was a problem._

 _My clan was an expert in dealing with such entities, as such we knew the best way to destroy and protect ourselves from them. Because of this our home temple was shielded with an abundance of special barriers, making it impossible for them to even come close to us, let alone inside in our living quarters._

 _They checked the barriers and they were in perfect shape, nothing passed through them._

 _The only explanation would have been if someone from the inside managed to make a path for them to come in with the help of a medium._

 _Everyone was checked, there was only one person who wasn't accounted for, and only that person was the only one who could have done it._

 _Me…_

 _I didn't do it… I couldn't have done it… I didn't even know how to do it._

 _And yet they all accused me of being the cause of it._

 _Since the whole situation wasn't exactly clear they decided to ignore it for the moment, and keep a close eye on me._

 _That was the beginning of my torment._

 _It kept happening over and over again. Whenever I got to close to mirrors I would end up unintentionally summoning apparitions. There were times that they got called even if I wasn't in front of a mirror._

 _The members of the clan tried to figure out the source of it all, but failed. They couldn't just exile me because I may end causing harm to innocents with the way things were._

 _As time passed they were getting tired of me and the trouble I was causing, it eventually led to them ignoring my very existence._

 _It was ludicrous that a member of a clan that specialized in exorcising spirits to attract them the way I did._

 _It felt frustrating beyond belief, being treated like you don't even exist, that you are nothing._

 _Living around people but being in a constant state of isolation. I don't know if it's worse to be stranded somewhere all alone or to be surrounded by people who refuse to acknowledge your existence. Either way, it was painful._

 _Everyone… my grandparents, uncles, cousins, even my own parents… to them I was better off if I didn't exist. All of them… except for one person._

 _I guess that the only reason I didn't do anything reckless was because there was just one person who still acknowledged my existence. He was a member of the branch family and he often looked after me as I grew up, somewhat of a big brother figure._

 _His name was Kiyotora Shinra. The so called problem child of the clan, often causing trouble and questioning the ways the clan preceded with its problems._

 _If there was someone who knew how it felt to be a misfit it was him, always getting scolded and punished for his reckless nature._

 _But to me he was a wonderful person._

 _No matter how much of a nuisance the clan saw me, he always saw me for who I was and would often be there for me to cheer me up._

 _He was my rescue line in the harsh environment that I lived in._

 _But it didn't last long._

 _Everything changed when I was fifteen. I just arrived at home from school as usual, only to find that there was a major scandal taking place inside our temple, and at the center of it was Kiyotora._

 _He was cutting his ties with the clan, renouncing his faith and declaring his intentions to join the Christian Church._

 _Every single one of these actions was considered heresy by the clan, and to declare his intention of doing all of them was pure insanity to them._

 _There wasn't anything left to discuss._

 _He was disowned of his status and exiled from the clan, never to return._

 _This enraged me._

 _When he was leaving I confronted him to why he was doing this, why was he leaving everything behind… why was he abandoning me._

 _He told me that he found a place he can call home within the church and its members._

 _Our clan was often commissioned by the various factions including the church to help them deal with spiritual entities. It was during those missions he had together with the church that he learned to appreciate their teachings and ways, growing strong bonds with its members, eventually making him to devote himself to the biblical God._

 _He told how he always felt like an outcast among the clan, how he was always looking for a place where he felt he truly belonged to, and that he finally found it._

 _I should have been happy for him… but I wasn't._

 _I knew it was selfish, but I didn't want him to leave._

'' _Please take me with you!''_

 _I broke down and cried, begging him to take me with him. I couldn't take it. He was the only person I could call real family… I didn't want to lose him and remain here in a forced isolation._

 _For as long as I could remember he was there, always easy going and had a warm air around him, but now there was nothing except seriousness present of his face as he grabbed me by the shoulders and stared into my mismatched eyes._

'' _I can't do that.''_

 _I shook my head in denial, why didn't he want to take me with him was all that was on my mind._

'' _This is the path I chose for myself after years of struggle and contemplating. It may be what I desire, but it's not what you want. Trust me, I can tell that Christianity isn't really your thing.''_

 _He let go of my shoulders and looked up at the sky with a wandering gaze._

'' _I won't chose for you, in fact I can't chose for you. Think everything over, try to understand what you want and how you can obtain it. I might sound difficult, but you can't go on relying on me as support forever, I might be here today but i can also be gone tomorrow. That's simply how life is.''_

'' _You're like the little sister I never had and I want you to be happy. I know that leaving you here might be cruel, but I want you to find your own answer.'' His arm tightened around my body as he embraced me, the one running through my hair. ''I'm sorry.''_

 _He let go… and walked away, giving one last smile. ''Maybe we will meet again one day.''_

 _That was the last time I saw him._

 _It wasn't long after that I also left the clan._

 _For a while I did what he asked me, I tried to think things over, what I really wanted. I didn't get a clear answer, but I knew I couldn't take living like this anymore._

 _I was at a crossroad, no one to turn to and felt betrayed by the only person who cared about me. Teenage foolishness combined with the build-up emotions and frustrations led me to decide something that I could never take back once I went through it. Perhaps what I decided was something reckless, perhaps I wanted to get back at the others for isolating me the way they did, giving them a real reason to reject me._

 _There was one person I searched for. I met her on one occasion when she brought a magical tome to the clan for exorcism of any potential evil spirits that may inhabit it. Our meeting wasn't what one may call a long or meaningful one, but to me it left me very intrigued._

 _Her name was Sona Sitri. It was short, but our meeting left an interesting impression on me. One strong enough to make me decide what I want to do._

 _I decided to become a devil._

* * *

''It wasn't long that I reached out to Sona and asked her to make me a devil. Since then three years have passed and my life has changed for the better, discovering that the source which attracted the apparitions was none other than my sacred gear, but after learning how to properly control it, they stopped appearing.''

Not having a place where you feel at ease… a place to call home. Anger directed at those who mistreated her, at the one person she believed in and yet that also wasn't there for her. I can't say I understand her reasoning, I've never been through what she did, so i'm not sure if it what she did was for the best.

Still, I can't say I agree with it. ''Was that really the best choice? Couldn't you have tried to find a different answer?''

''I was just a foolish teenager without any real experience when it came to life. Even if there were other choices I was to blinded by my emotions to consider them.'' She admitted as she leaned against the chair, her eyes wondering aimlessly at the ceiling, lips curling into a small smile. ''But if I were faced with the same choice I would still chose the same.''

''Sona is more than just a friend to me, she is almost like a sister and I owe her far too much than I can ever hope to repay, the life she offered me is something I cherish dearly, I wouldn't change it for nothing.'' A small chuckle escaped her lips, this being possible the first time I heard her do anything remotely similar to a laugh. ''It's a somewhat ironic turn of events now that I think about it. At first I resented Kiyotora for not taking me with him, but if he took me along I would have never met Sona and all of you.''

She does have a point. If it weren't for his choice of leaving her behind, she would have probably never become a devil. However, she does seem content with everything that happened, with where all it led to. She seems content with all happened… I suppose I should respect that.

''Guess you made the right choice when it mattered.'' Kusaka commented.

All that aside, there is still something that's been bugging me. ''Wasn't there any way to return your eyes to normal?''

''Unfortunately there are some things that simply can't be corrected even with magic.'' She admitted as she put her glasses back on, her eyes both changing to brown. ''Yet even if there were I would have probably left them the way they are.''

That wasn't something that I expected, you would think that since her eyes were a source of her problems she would want to correct them the moment she found a proper way to do it. ''But why would you do that?''

She didn't respond at first, her glasses sliding slightly making her eyes revert to their natural state, a small reassuring smile present on her face. ''A reminder, of who the person I was before and the one that I am now.''

''Then why do you keep them hidden?'' The question asked by Nimura was actually an interesting one, if she indeed didn't find them repulsing or brought back any bad memories why keep them hidden?

A tired sigh escaped our Queens lips as she leaned on her chair. ''I was never a person that enjoyed being in the center of attention, and I know from personal experience how much unwanted stares a pair of mismatched eyes can get you.''

I guess she had a valid reason, even during our little meetings and our student council duties she always seems to behave herself in a somewhat cool and silent way, such that she operates without getting to much attention from the people around her. To me it never really mattered if I was a subject of discussion or not, but if I were to choose, I would pick the latter. I raised my head and looked from the side carefully at her eyes, skipping by her glasses, admiring her mismatched orbs, my thoughts escaping my mouth. ''... It's a shame though, I think they are really pretty.''

A heavy silence fell on the room, Shinra-senpai's eyes widened, a sudden twitch ran through her body, her cheeks flushing red. She averted her gave, looking to the side, her lips trembling slightly. ''...T-Thank you.''

I tilted my head slightly curious in response to her reaction, her sudden stuttering was not something I saw from her before. A series of snickers got my attention, all of the other girls at the table appearing amused by something, Meguri in particular was grinning strongly at me. ''Heh~ real smooth Emi-chan, and here I took you for the shy type.''

My head tilted to the side, hands crossed in front of my chest. ''What do you mean by that?''

There was a heavy silence in the room, the smiles on the girls faces dropped and got replaced by stunned expression, with the exception of Saji who appeared to be as confused as me. A large sweat drop formed on Meguri's forehead as she stared at me with half lidded eyes. ''Wow… talk about dense as a brick.''

''Huh?''

''Nothing, nothing, just teenage girl stuff.'' Hanakai waved her hand in front of me, a sly smile present on her face.

I sighed and took a cookie, clearly it will be a long time before I start understanding women. My eyes narrowed at the other male pawn of the group, the others doing the same. The said mentioned pawn taken aback by the sudden stares, realization hitting him after about a minute of starring, a tired sigh escaping his mouth. ''So it's my turn, well I expected this.''

After scratching his cheek awkwardly he crossed his arms and starred at the table. An annoyed scowl present on his face. ''If I were to describe how I was before I became a devil, it would be a massive prick. ''

This certainly took me by surprise, the fact Saji who usually is reserved about himself also partake in this little story exchange, but the it surprised me more how he can admit, and I quote 'a massive prick' like that. Most people don't like or want to admit this kind of things.

''Why do you say that Saji-senpai?'' Nimura appeared to be just as confused as me.

He closed his eyes and slowly hummed. ''…Because I was one, and it was Kaichou that made me see things differently.''

* * *

 _You know how they say that if parents don't watch over their kids they might end up getting involved with the wrong kind of crowds?_

 _Well, I was a prime example of this._

 _My parents were always away with work, so I was by myself most of the time. It wasn't exactly the best way to grow up, coming home only to find it empty and only getting to see my parents if I stayed up late. I tried understanding the whole situation, that they had to work in order for us to live a proper life, but deep down I didn't like it at all._

 _Whenever I saw kids my age together with their family, all laughing together looking all happy like that would make me feel bitter… I guess I just felt lonely._

 _That loneliness however started to turn into resentment around the time I started high school._

 _I started hanging with some of the cool guys in the neighborhood, who offered me more attention than my parents ever did._

 _Most of them were older than me, all from different schools._

 _The more time I spent with them the more I started changing, blending in with the gang, turning into 'one of the guys' so to say._

 _Skipping classes, started smocking, picking on random people, vandalism, getting into fights, turning more and more violent and troublesome._

 _My parent became aware of this and started nagging at me to stop hanging out with them, telling me that they are a bad influence. This only made me angrier, now they were noticing me? They couldn't have done it earlier, no, they just had to wait until I did something like this to actually make them act like they had a son?_

 _I ignored everything they said and it often ended up in heated arguments._

 _Looking back, I really was a fool going through a nasty rebellious phase. They only wanted the best for me but I was too stupid and hardheaded to notice it._

 _Or maybe I didn't want to notice it._

 _Things just keep getting worse as time passed._

'' _Saji-san you're late again, also your attendance hasn't been a very proper one recently.''_

'' _Saji-san you aren't allowed to wear that kind of accessories together with your uniform.''_

'' _Saji-san there are rumors of you getting in fights with classmates.''_

 _God I hate the student council president. Little miss four eyes kept nagging with stuff like this whenever I managed to get to school. Always going on about being late and some other shitty rules of hers. She was majorly pissing me off._

 _I never paid attention to her and just ignored her._

 _Who needs school, who needs parents when you have friends._

 _That was what I used to think._

 _Until I saw just what kind of people my friends were._

 _It was on a cloudy day when we decided to skip on class and go hang out near the river side. I left earlier and was the first one to arrive there, not having anything better to do I just waited there for the gang._

 _Sometime later I could hear footsteps near me. I just expected my friends, but when I looked I was greeted by some unfamiliar gang. I could tell from first glance that these guys meant trouble._

 _They went on about what I'm doing in their meeting place, that I should scram before things get ugly._

 _I was prideful, arrogant and reckless. I didn't talk with words and instead let my fist do the talking. The first two guys did get a taste of my knuckles, but the other four managed to sneak behind me and restrain me._

 _What followed was a world of pain as they kept beating me restlessly, using me as their personal punching bang._

 _Even though my senses were messed up from the pain and the disorientation the beating was causing me, I still noticed the group that approached._

 _For a moment I felt a spark of hope light within me as my friends were just a few meters ahead. I screamed at them for help, hoping that if we fight together with can deal with these jokers._

'' _Sorry Gen, you're on your own.''_

 _Those were the words they said as they ran away, they hurt more than the punches I was getting at my face._

 _Why? Where did I go wrong? Why did they just abandon me like that?_

 _Those words kept repeating in my mind as those boys kept beating at me. I stopped struggling and let them do their thing… it was less painful than what I felt in my heart._

 _I honestly don't know how long they kept beating the living crap out of me. It could've been three minutes or thirty minutes, I don't have any idea._

 _When they finally got bored they decided to leave me in my misery, all limp on the ground. It was easier to count the body parts that didn't hurt, I couldn't even feel my face anymore._

 _It was sometime after I managed to pick myself up that I was walking, no destination in mind, just walking._

 _Perhaps the sky responded to my emotional state that it broke into a strong rain. It didn't faze me and I just continued to walk, the only good side was that the rain was washing away the blood from my face._

 _I felt so hollow._

 _Even though I was always there for them, always there to listen to their problems, helping out however I could, they still abandoned me._

 _Walking aimlessly through the rain, I stumbled upon a busy intersection. The sound of a police siren and angry shouts overlapped the one of the rain. My eyes drifted tiredly to the source only to widen at what they were witnessing._

 _On the opposite sidewalk the police was struggling to shove in the van the very same friends that left me get the beating of a lifetime._

 _Not understanding what was going on I just stared in silence as one by one they were arrested. When the last was about to enter the van he noticed me._

'' _Hey Gen! Please come and help!'' he screamed so loud that the police officers stopped and looked to who he was talking. ''We're friends aren't we?''_

 _It felt like something snapped in me when I heard those words. Friends? Friends?! FRIENDS?!_

 _How dare he say that after what they did?!_

 _I turned around and walked away, unaware that someone was following me._

 _Anger, disgust, and sadness were the only things that fueled me at that moment, my hands hurting from how hard they were clutching._

 _To hell with all of it… I've had enough._

'' _That was quite the scene those boys made, wasn't it Saji-san.''_

 _I stopped in my tracks and turned around to see who was bothering me. ''Oh, it's you…''_

 _There she was, holding an umbrella to keep the rain away, a grocery bag hanging on her arm. Her usual stern look present on her face._

'' _What the heck do you want?'' I asked her slowly, my tone coated in venom._

 _She lifted her glasses with her free hand. ''I couldn't help but notice what happened in that intersection and the injuries you have. I want to help you.''_

 _I gritted my teeth. ''Who said I want your help.''_

'' _Don't be like that, you need to get wounds checked before they get serious.'' She reached to her pocked and took a handkerchief, immediately reaching for my face with it._

'' _Don't touch me!'' I snapped at her, small hand stopping mid-air._

 _She narrowed her eyes and looked at me with a complex look, making me unable to tell what she was thinking. ''… You were always somewhat of a misfit among the students but even then you never acted this way. Tell what happened.''_

 _A dry snort escaped my lips. ''Why do you even care, I only cause trouble for you and your precious school, heck you should be glad to see me messed up like this.''_

'' _You are right, I shouldn't care since you always act the way you do, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't help you.''_

 _I didn't know why but her words started to irritate me. I turned around and began walking away, not liking where this discussion was heading. ''… Well sorry to disappoint you but I'm not in the mood for anybody's pity, especially yours.''_

 _After two steps I heard a small sigh from the girl behind me. ''… So you're just going to run from your problems again?''_

 _I stopped walking. Turning slowly around, I almost saw red as I look at this damn girl. ''What did you just say?''_

 _She didn't react. Most people would flinch at the sight of me being angry, if you counted the amount of bruises and cuts on my face I was certainly not a pleasant sigh, and yet she stood in place uninterested. ''You heard what I said, you always run away from the problems that you need to face. This is exactly the same behavior you had at school whenever you were faced with trouble and you're doing now once again.''_

 _I took step forward, my hand tightening in a first by instinct. ''… Shut up.''_

'' _Struck a nerve did I?'' she almost smirked at me. ''If you are content staying in this pathetic state, then by all means just leave.''_

 _I repeated myself, taking another step forward. ''Shut up!''_

'' _Perhaps it would be better to just go home and forget this ever happened, I'm sure that what happened today wasn't anything new to you.''_

 _For a moment my mind wasn't properly working anymore. Reason was overshadowed by anger and frustration towards the truth. ''I SAID SHUT UP!''_

 _I punched her in the face._

 _Her face went to the left side, the sound of her glasses hitting the ground could be heard in the loud rain._

 _In that moment I realized what I just did…_

 _She slowly lift up hear head, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, the skin where I smacked her starting to darken, cold eyes staring in pity at me. ''…Feeling better?''_

''… _No.'' I admitted in shame, the cold tone of her voice making me feel disgusted with myself. ''… Worse in fact.''_

 _She picked up her glasses and cleaned her lenses before putting them back on her face. ''I can imagine.''_

 _A cold and empty feeling filled my gut, my legs losing their strength, falling on my knees in a swift motion._

 _There were no more words. She stopped talking to me, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of rain. Now that my anger was gone, all that was left was just confusion and self-loathing. I didn't understand anymore. ''… Be honest with me, why do you even care about me?''_

 _She took her handkerchief and used to wipe the blood from her mouth. ''… I find it sad to see someone with so much potential go to waste.''_

 _Her words felt foreign to me. Although I understood what she said, I didn't understand why she said them. ''What are you even talking about, I'm hardly anything special. My grades are below average and I hardly have any talents in sports or other stuff.''_

'' _Potential can be seen in many things not just the things you counted.'' She explained slowly as she crouched in front of me, the pity filled stare that she showed earlier was now replaced by a neutral one. ''Ever since I first met you I felt this silent drive in you, a desire for something more. Am I wrong?''_

 _Drive she says? For what?_

'' _I don't know dammit. I never had any dream or ideal to strive for, I just went with the flow of life, waiting to see what happens.'' I admitted disappointed in myself for never finding something to dedicate myself to. It didn't matter if it was school or a sport, or some random hobby, anything would have worked. But now that I thought about it there is something that I truly wanted but never knew how to obtain it. ''Yet… if there's one thing I longed for, I guess it was a place to call my own, somewhere where I felt like I belong.''_

 _Once again silence fell upon on._

 _Damn… just what the hell was I doing talking to my problems to her of all people. I'm surprised she isn't laughing at me by now and just keeps staring at me like that. ''What if I could help you find that place?''_

 _There was a slight twitch in my lips, my voice coming out strained. ''…What?''_

 _She sighed and took her handkerchief, using it to gently wipe the blood and dirt off my face. I was too shocked and confused to move or complain anymore._

'' _The way that I'm going to suggest won't be an easy one, and honestly the way you are right now I'm not sure if I should help you, but if you're ready to change your ways I can help you find the place you are searching for.''_

 _I took a moment and processed what she just told me. She was giving me an opportunity, but she isn't just going to help me just like that, she wants to see some sort of proof that I'm willing to go out of my way if I really want her help._

 _There was a moment when I wanted to refuse her… but then I thought of my current life. I keep arguing with my parents over and over, I became friends with the worst kind of bunch and I payed for it today._

 _If where I stand right now, beaten and broken in the rain is indeed the result of my current way I'm living, I want to put an end to it, I never want to go through it again._

''… _I want to change.''_

* * *

''It took me about a year to put some order in my life and become a more decent guy. That's why Kaichou only made me a devil recently, it took me that long to prove myself.''

I took a bite out of a cookie as I contemplated his story. The choices he made himself up until that point were the things that build up and finally crumble down on him. If he was more understanding with his parents or if he were more careful with the people he chose as his friends he wouldn't have ended as a devil.

The wish to find a place to call his own… a place where he felt at ease, happy… where he felt at home.

It made me curious… Saji and I had a rather edgy relationship ever since we first met. What kind of interactions would we had if he was the same way before he starting changing?

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and took a look around the other people at the table. My eyes landed on Shinra-senpai who appeared rather disturbed.

''Saji-kun… did you seriously punch Sona?'' her voice was surprisingly scared.

The mentioned pawn let out a tired sigh and looked down. ''Hey I told you, I was a prick, I did a lot of nasty stuff I'm honestly not proud of. I'm still trying to change myself for the better and make up for it, but I still have moments when my nasty side keeps popping back up.''

Shinra-senpai didn't seem to take in account what he said, quickly getting up from her seat and placing her hands on Saji's shoulders, a dead serious expression present on her face. ''…Saji-kun never again in your life admit that you punched Sona.''

I could see the sweat forming on Saji's face from uncomfortable feeling Shinra-senpai was giving him. ''Hey look I know what I did was dick move, but I apologized and still try to make up for what-''

''That's not what I meant.'' She cut him off quickly. ''Pray that Sona's sister never hears about this, otherwise I fear what may happen.''

Saji's tilted his head confused, I think Shinra-senpai did mention at some point that our master's sister is a bit protective towards her. The blonde pawn gulped nervously. ''How bad are we talking?''

She didn't immediately, her body trebling shivering slightly. ''… I can imagine something along the lines of freezing your manhood and then smashing it to pieces.''

Huh… I didn't think it was possible for someone to pale as much as Saji did the moment he processed what he just heard and visualized it in his mind. I tried to avoid doing the same…

Noticing the awkward silence in the room I let out a dry cough. ''…Ahem… So is that why you had that hostile attitude towards me at the beginning? Some of your old personality resurfacing? ''

After taking a moment to clear his mind of the possible excruciating pain that one day may befall on him, he sighed and looked at me with a tired expression. '' How should I put it, you reminded me a bit of one of the guy I used to hang out, so it kinda irritated me to look at you. It also didn't help that I saw you, a guy in relationship getting along like that with other girls, especially Kaichou. If there's one thing I can't stand its playboys. ''

''Oh, I guess that's...'' I stopped talked as I fully process what he just said to me, a sudden dreadful feeling running through my body. ''Wait, back up a little. What do you mean by the 'relationship' part?''

The blond pawn looked confused at me for a moment as he crossed his arms. ''I meant you and the captain of the archery club, you two are going out aren't you?''

I just stared at him for a couple of moments, taking in a deep breath as I looked him dead in the eyes.

''Ok… let me see if I get this right.'' I began rubbing the bridge of my nose in anticipation for the unavoidable headache that was bound to arrive any second. ''You thought me and Mitsuzuri are a couple?''

''You mean you're not?!'' to my surprise it wasn't just Saji that asked, but everyone at the table, somehow doing it a perfect synchronized time.

It was Hanakai that decided to speak first about this stupid subject. ''But me and Reya always see the two of you together. Actually she's the only person you remotely hang out with, so pretty much everyone at school assumed you two might be together but are trying to hide it.''

I slowly moved my jaw left and right. Good I still had it, considering that the amount of gibberish that I was hearing I wouldn't be surprised if it just fell down on the floor. My left eye twitching slightly as comprehended what her last statement meant.

''So the whole school thinks me and Mitsuzuri are a couple?''

It was Yura that decided to comment first. ''Well duh, why do you think other girls aren't swarming around you like they do with Kiba Yuuto, it's because they're under the impression that you're taken.''

Taking a second to calm myself, I rested my head on the very comfortable cold table. I often saw Kiba getting followed around by his so called fan girls and to be honest I can't see myself in his shoes… or more like I don't know how I could deal with it the way he does. ''You've got to be kidding me… so if there wasn't the misconception about me being taken I would have girls swarming around me?''

''Don't be so shocked Emiya, our school used to be a girls only one so the current ration of male-female students is one to ten. That means for every male student there are ten female ones. So it's obvious with those numbers that the amount of choices the female students have when it comes to potential boyfriends is rather limited.'' Surprisingly it was Kusaka that explained this.

Shinra-senpai stepped in and continued. ''You are known in the school for being a kind, hardworking and always ready to lend a helping hand person, so that will automatically get you a good reputation among the female students. If you add up the fact that you are also handsome and with a nice physique, you are probably among the most popular male students. Honestly I'm shocked that you don't already have girlfriend.''

''Huh… when you put it like that it make me feel rather awkward. I guess I was never interested in a relationship before.''

They all stared at me with mixed expressions. The girls had what I could identify as 'Are you serious?' looks while Saji seemed rather disturbed. ''Dude if you're gay I ain't sharing a bed with you ever again.''

And so my headache has gone up a rank, not wanting to deal with any misinterpretation anymore I decided to be honest. ''Look I'm just not really good with some of the social stuff. The reason I always hang out with Mitsuzuri is because I don't really have other friends. When it comes to some of the things that are normal for people our age, I just see things differently.''

It was always like this.

I can't even recall how me and Mitsuzuri ended up friends the way we are. It was at first small stuff like saying hi to each other in class, some small chat here and there, but in time it progressed to us hanging out in our free time.

While I don't have problems talking and interacting with other people, for as long as I can remember there always was this restrain I had when it came to opening up to others. I could never figure out what it was or why I had it, but for some reason deep down I felt that I didn't deserve to have friends… to be happy.

''Don't be like that Emi-chan!'' Meguri's sudden outburst broke me out of my thought. ''Aren't we all friends here?''

It was weird… my eyes seemed to widen slightly at her statement.

''Just think about it, how we are all part of the same peerage, how we all fought last night and how we shared stories like this, I think this qualifies us as your friends.''

I was somewhat perplexed at our knight's words. Drifting my eyes at the people around me they smiled and nodded in agreement.

Perhaps… I haven't been considering their feelings. Although it didn't really matter to me, it does matter to them. Because we are all part of the same team so to say, I should try to be more open to them, to try and make real bonds with them.

A small chuckle escaped my lips as I rubbed the back of my head. ''…I guess it does.''

Perhaps it's time I became proactive.

Curiously this made realize something. ''Although... I find it surprising that you all shared your background like that. Most people tend to keep to themselves.''

They all seemed to take notice of it as well, appearing rather surprised themselves that they were able to talk about their problems.

''It's not that surprising when you think about it. It's one of Sitri clan's traits after all.'' Shinra-senpai explained to us.

Well here we are diving in uncharted territory again. ''Care to explain, I don't I quite understand you.''

''When it comes to devil clans in general, each clan has a certain power or ability they govern over. Like how the Sitri clan has advance control over water or how the Bael clan possesses the power of destruction.'' Our queen explained as she crossed her arms under her chest. ''However there is another kind of trait that each clan has, not a magical one in the form of a power, but rather a certain personality trait found in the members of the respective clan.''

She didn't get to continue as Yura cut her off. ''I think I heard about your talking about. For instance the Gremory are known to treat their household members as their own family, or how the Astaroth members tend to be very enthusiastic if not borderlines obsessive about the things that peek their interest.''

Our queen nodded in an agreement.

''While it's not obligatory for every devil of a clan to have their clans personality trait, it does happen most of the time.'' She elaborated as she lifted her arm up, a blue mark began manifesting on the back of her palm. It was the mark of the Sitri clan. ''Although we are not Sitri devils by blood, we all inherited the symbol of Sitri when we became Sona's piece's, so it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that we also inherited the clan trait as at some extent.''

This peeked my interest. Ever since I became a devil I felt that so many things have change around me and I wonder how much of it was influenced by this so called trait. ''Then if that's the case... what's the Sitri trait?''

She took a moment and cupped her chin with her hand, probably looking for the best way to describe it. ''It's the trait of bearing ourselves.''

This somewhat intrigued me,

''R-Really?! That's hot!'' it would seem that Saji drew a rather hasty conclusion and assumed that it was something along the more erotic lines.

''I meant figurally.'' I could see the how she struggled not to face palm herself at Saji's deduction skills.

Shinra-senpai must have it tough with us sometimes.

''It's a certain aspect that makes us honest with our fellow clan members, we bare the things that we keep try to keep secret, things that we want to bare but are usually frightened to do with other people. While it does sound rather odd, it's not like we can't keep secrets from one another, but it helps us in communicating and understanding each other, for there are some things that we would need a little help to admit or to say.''

I guess this makes sense in a way. Lately there's been a lot on my mind, yet I haven't just gone out my way and talked about it with anyone in particular, not even my family. So while it may make me more prone to bare myself, it's not something like an impulse or a drive that makes me want to do it.

''What we discussed before, I doubt that any of us could have talked so easily about their past like if not for the trait. I don't know about you, but I still have a hard time when it comes to talking about my past...'' there was a hint of remorse in her voice, yet her eyes seemed to soften gently afterwards. ''Yet... it feels somehow refreshing to tell you how I became Sona's queen. I don't know if it's from the trait or something else, but I'm glad we could talk like this.''

One by one they all nodded in agreement, Nimura in particular seemed to enjoy where this all led. ''Yeah, you're right!''

''Wait a minute!'' Meguri suddenly cut in and pointed at me. ''Emi-chan you never told us how you became a devil.''

Huh… now that she mention it, everyone else told how they ended up under our master, expect me. This was rather awkward, not that I didn't want to tell them how it happened, but rather I'm not sure how would be the proper way to explain it.

Should I be a little vague with how it happened, or should I be honest like them and be frank like they were when told me their background.

… Well, here goes nothing.

''I was attacked by an enemy of my dad's, I got myself killed while stopping him and by dumb luck I had a summoning pamphlet on me and Kaichou was able to revive me.''

Yep, probably not the best way to explain what happened to me if the dead silence and blank stares are any indication.

''...O-Oh.'' Meguri coughed out awkwardly, clearly appearing to regret what she just asked.

''Well I'm going to check on our master, make sure you leave her some cookies.'' I said as I got up from my seat and walked out of the kitchen.

Guess Iri was right, I really can ruin the mood sometimes.

* * *

Huh...

Truthfully speaking I wasn't sure what to expect from my master's bedroom, but as sure as hell wasn't expecting something so... girly?

The walls were painted in a bright shade of pink, several stuffed animals were arranged on a hanging shelf on the wall, a big library filled with books covered one of the walls completely, her bed sheets sported small hearts while her wardrobe was covered with many stickers, many of which were surprisingly 'Hello Kitty' ones. Also, if my eyes are not somehow deceiving me, I noticed some anime DVD's on a lower shelf.

If I accidentally walked in this room, my bespectacled master was the last person I would have expected to be the owner of such a room. Not to insult her or anything, but I never really saw such a girly side to her. It's not like she gives me any reason not to considering that she barely wears any make-up, or even use nail polish.

Shaking my head, I began looking around the room. Although Shinra-senpai told me that she was here, I couldn't spot my master anywhere. My eyes stopped and locked themselves at a picture on the drawer next to her bed.

While I knew I shouldn't be going through other peoples stuff, I couldn't help but be curious and pick it up to take a better look. It was a picture of two girls, one of which was obviously my master, but I didn't recognize the other one.

She looked a lot like my bespectacled master, albeit she seemed a bit younger and was displaying a rather childish demeanor if the way she hugged and rubbed her face against my master was any indication... her little sister perhaps?

Weird... I recall her mentioning that she had an elder sister. Does she also have a younger one?

I brushed that thought and walked to the library, scanning the titles of the books. My eyes stopped moving when I saw an interesting title on one of the books.

Carefully examining it, I couldn't help but check its contents. Again, I shouldn't be messing with other peoples stuff, but the title 'Supernatural encyclopedia' had such a curious ring to it.

It was quite interesting. Similar in contents like a zoology encyclopedia, only instead of containing animals, it was composed of all kinds of supernatural races and creatures. From common ones like angels, devils and fallen angels, to more intriguing ones like chimeras, vampires, werewolves, doppelgangers and dullahans.

Perhaps I should ask my master if can borrow it. I kept flipping through pages, generally taking a quick look at each recorded creature.

I was about to turn the page, but the title of a particular chapter somehow got my attention more than the others.

'Homunculus'

This one single name was standing out among all the others, a nagging sensation running through my head as I tried to remember where I hear this word before.

'' _Nope, the three of us are homunculus.''_

The pages on the book rustled as my fingers tightened on them, recalling what Liz told me the day that I learned of the supernatural, what I ignored at the time and didn't give so much importance.

'Homunculus'- A concept resulted by those who pursued the creation of sentient life through the usage of mystical arts. By nature a homunculus is a type of human artificially crafted without the need of a womb.

Mostly created through the means of alchemy, they receive from nature all necessary knowledge and reasoning at the moment of birth. The maturing of their bodies into adult stage does not take years like humans do, nor do they grow any older from that point on, reaching the designated age in less than a year.

Although they appear very similar to humans in both physical appearance and anatomy, there will always be something they lack compared to a real flesh and blood human. Depending on the methods of creation and the designated purpose, the homunculus will invariably have some sort of physical defect, small stature, lower intellect or lack of reproductive capabilities, and these are just a few examples.

A common flaw that most homunculus suffer of is a low life span, as their creators often trade a long function time for a short yet high quality one, following the tradition of alchemy, the law of equivalent exchange.

My nails began to dig in the pages of the book, my mind filled to the brim with confusion. Was this what Iri, Sella and Liz are? They are artificial humans? Does that mean that they have a very short lifespan? But if all of this is true… what about Illya?

Once again, when I thought I learned something about the ones I care for, brand new and complex question arise from it.

''Is someone there?'' The sudden voice made me flinch and I immediately put the book back on the shelf, looking around to find the source of the familiar voice. After a few seconds of processing I recognized who the voice belonged to.

''Yeah, it's me master.'' I responded with a tired sigh, trying to calm and clear my mind. ''By the way, where are you?''

''I'm outside on the balcony.''

Now that she mentioned it there was another door inside the room besides the one I walked in through. I entered the balcony and looked around, spotting my master sitting by the railing, silently starring at the sky. ''I thought you were resting.''

She sighed and rested her head on her arm, her gaze drifting towards the backyard of the house. ''I was, but I felt the need of some fresh air.''

I nodded and sat on her left, resting my arms on the railing and scanning the area. Something near the gate of the house got my attention. ''You have a motorcycle?''

''Oh that thing?'' She stared impassive at the rather expensive looking piece of transport. ''That's not mine, its Kurosaiga's.''

I blinked confused a few times. ''What?''

''Has it ever occurred to you why Kurosaiga was on devil territory in the first place when he was a wanted man?''

Now that she mentions it… While I know how Kurosaiga ended up the way he did, I don't have any clue to how or why he was on devil territory in the first place. In fact him being here didn't make any sense in the first place. True he had a grudge against pure-bloods, but he didn't go out of his way and hunt them down.

''We found that motorcycle outside the hideout and tried turning it on, but it wasn't working. So I can speculate that he was just driving by through our territory without any intention of stopping but his motorcycle stopped working so he had no choice but stop and repair it somewhere with no people around.'' She explained as rubbed her still injured wrists. ''And I think you know what happened afterwards.''

That was it? Some of us almost died last night just because of a damn engine malfunction?

I wasn't sure if it's some higher beings twisted sense of humor or if it was just some really convenient coincidence that his bike just had to break on the same night that we went stray hunting. I couldn't resist the urge to cover my eyes and sigh. ''Guess we don't have the best luck.''

''Tell me about it.''

Trying to protect my sanity and somehow stop myself from cursing my luck, I decided to change the subject. ''So what are you going to do with it?''

''Honestly... I have no idea. Bikes aren't really my thing, and it needs repairs, so it would bring me more trouble if I kept it around.''

A sudden idea ran through my head. ''I could repair it if you want.''

Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at me. ''Are you familiar with motorcycles?''

''Not really, but I'm pretty good at tinkering with machines so I think I can manage. ''

''Fine by me. In fact it's all yours.''

''Huh?'' Did I just hear her right?

She waved her hand left and right in a slow motion. ''You heard me, I have no use for it so you can have it.''

This certainly wasn't something I expected. ''B-But I can't just take it.''

''If there's anyone who should take it it's you. Keep in mind that you are the one who defeated Kurosaiga. Think of it as spoils of war.''

I wouldn't consider what happened last night something that needs rewarding, but judging by the way she is staring at me I doubt that she will take no for an answer regardless of what I have to say. ''... Might as well repair it and decide later what to do with it. It's not like I have driving license anyway.''

She only nodded in agreement and continued to stare at the night sky.

''Something is on your mind isn't it?'' she asked bluntly taking me by surprise. If I were to go on serving under her there were some things that I had to make clear first.

''You know...'' I began slowly, adopting a more serious persona, more cold and calculate, similar to the one I had when I fought last night. ''I asked the others how they ended up in your peerage.''

''Is that so?'' she simply acknowledged and didn't seem particular affected by question. ''Any particular reason why you asked them out of the blue like that?''

I didn't respond to her, my eyes faltering slightly when meeting hers, a feeling of remorse lingering in me. While no words were said, my actions were enough for her to deduce my reason.

''I see... It's about what happened to Kurosaiga isn't it? You thought there's a chance I did something similar didn't you?''

This wasn't easy, I was basically accusing her of manipulating the others in some way in order for her to gain them as her pieces. Although I learned of everyone's backstory and how much she helped each of them and just how much she means to everyone, there is still a part of me that is a cynical enough to believe that she had a hand to play in it.

An exhausted sigh escaped my lips as I leaned against the railing. ''Try to understand master, after the things I saw through his blade it's hard not to consider that possibility.''

''I guess it is.'' She told me slowly as she turned around to face me, a stoic expression present of her face. ''I can't deny that there are pure-bloods who abuse the system in order to satisfy their greed for a strong peerage, but not all of them are like that.''

I didn't enjoy her answer, it felt like she was avoiding the problem at hand. ''Are you one of them?''

Her violet orbs stared intensely into my amber ones, never blinking or faltering. ''What do you think?''

I wish I could've answered her question, but I didn't know what I could say. ''To be honest I've been having a hard time recently understanding what's the truth and what's not.''

''Perhaps its time I was more open with you. Do you remember what I said when I revealed to you that I was a devil?''

I took a moment and though back at that day, at the conversation we had. ''You said that you never intended to make me devil, that you enjoyed the way we were just schoolmates and would have preferred to keep our relation that way.''

''I wasn't fully honest when I told you that.'' She admitted as she crossed her arms.

There a twitch in my hand, all kinds of scenarios forming in my mind but I managed to shove them aside for the moment and calm myself. ''Just how much of it was a lie?''

''It wasn't. That indeed was one of the reasons why I didn't want to recruit you, but there were two other reasons I didn't tell you about.''

''Such as?'' I narrowed my eyes at her.

She took a moment a stared aimlessly at me, probably thinking on how to properly explain myself. ''Tell me Emiya, aside from our powers, what makes a devil different from a human?''

I quickly opened my mouth to answer, only to close it back as I realized she probably wasn't referencing to something obvious.

''The answer is desire.'' She told as she placed her arm on her hip, adopting a somewhat familiar pose, though I didn't quite know where I saw it before. ''It is one of the fundamental things that defines a devil. We are creatures of desire, we live for our desires and grant others their desires, because of that we are the most sensible creatures when it comes to feeling desire from others.''

I took a moment and processes what she told me, while it was interesting to say the least, it didn't answer my questions. ''I understand that, but what does this have to with anything?''

''It's because of the desire that I felt from the others that made me want them to be part my peerage. The desire to overcome any hardship that awaits them so they can become something much greater than what they currently were. You may have a hard time believing it, but I didn't chose the people in my peerage because of their talents or powers. I chose them because each of them had something in them that made them shine stronger than other people with talent or power will.'' She took a moment stared deep into my eyes. ''A burning desire of something greater.''

''There were some people I asked to join and refused my offer. I simply accepted and went on, but those who accepted my offer I took upon myself to make sure that one day they will become people that they can take pride in.''

As I was starring into her eyes a complex feeling started swirling inside me. Shame perhaps?

… Was I perhaps wrong? Was I too hasty and jumped to the wrong conclusions? Did I really doubt someone who genuinely wanted to help others?

There was a moment when I faltered, her words easing my paranoid thinking, but there was still enough left in me to prevent me from being swayed just yet.

''What about me?'' I asked her with what probably was the most serious tone I ever made.

''A reason why I never approached you with the offer was because I never felt any desire from you. To a pure blooded devil like myself sensing desire is something akin to breathing, I always feel desires from the people around me.'' She lifted her hand and gently placed it over my chest. ''It varies from person to person, some desire money, others power, some want to satisfy their lust, and the list goes one. However, when it comes to you Emiya, I just never felt anything that I can call real desire… It's like you're an empty shell.''

 _Empty shell…_

Those words… they had a heavy impact... they did something to me. The moment I thought about them… my vision went static. Several images quickly flashing through my mind. Fire. Smoke. Debris. Death.

''Emiya?''

A hand covered in dried blood reaching towards the sky.

''Emiya!''

The sky splitting in half, powerful light swallowing me.

''EMIYA!''

I blinked a several of times, recalling where I was. It took me a few seconds to calm down, cold sweat running on down my skin, my breath heavy and sore while my ears were buzzing. My master was gripping tightly on my shoulders, a worried expression present on her usual collected face. ''W-What?''

She let out an exhausted sigh as she let go of my shoulders. ''You just zoned out for a couple of minutes and weren't responding. What's wrong?''

My hand instinctively grabbed my face, rubbing my tired eyes. ''S-Sorry... I was just... thinking.''

''If what I said made you feel uncomfortable, then I apologize.'' I could feel her regret in her voice, I didn't like hearing it.

''No... it's okay.'' I muttered as I looked to the side, whatever just happened was not normal… it's one thing to see things like that in a dream, but it's another thing entirely for something like this to happen while I'm wide awake, much less while I'm in a conversation with a person. I will have to figure out what's going on… but that can wait. I need to finish this talk. ''...You said that there were two reason, what was the second?''

''The second reason wasn't a matter of me not wanting you to join me, but rather it was matter of me being forbidden from recruiting you.''

Ok… this made me push any personal worries to the side. ''What do mean by 'forbidden'?''

She sighed as put her hand on the railing, leaning tiredly against it. ''Emiya, do you honestly think we didn't knew that your family was involved with the supernatural before the incident with Neculai?''

This put me on the edge, she knew from the start, while I didn't have any clue. However, there was something I didn't understand. ''When you say 'we' who else is aware?''

''Rias and I knew from the first day we were handed the responsibility of this territory. However, we also knew that we weren't allowed to try and recruit any of the members of that respective household.''

This was beginning to get to me since it didn't make any sense. ''But how? Why?''

''We weren't told the exact details, but your father seems to have obtained a special privileged from Sirzechs Lucifer himself, and because of this a certain agreement was made. Kiritsugu Emiya and all the members of his family are allowed to live in this devil territory under the condition of not involving us in any of the problems that may appear on his behalf. Also, neither I or Rias, nor any members of our respective households are allowed to involve any members of his family in matters that concern us.''

''Because of those conditions, I couldn't have recruited you even if I wanted to.''

Dammit… just what the heck has been going on behind my back. My dad somehow managed to obtain a special favor from Sirzechs Lucifer. SIRZECHS LUCIFER!

If the accomplishments and events that he took part in are even half true, that man is a legend among the devils, one who could turn a country into a waste land without as much breaking a sweat.

And somehow my father managed to get special privilege from him.

Just what the hell did my father even do?!

''You know, because I wasn't allowed to get involved with you, it made me curious about you, about what kind of person you were. I was surprised the first time we meet.'' She whispered in a gentle tone. ''I was wondering if it was your way of getting my attention, but it was just a kind man helping out.''

''As we kept running into each other, chatting the way we did, getting to know you better, I was actually a bit sad that I wasn't allowed to recruit you. I don't know what it is about you, but you always had this intriguing air around you, something that made me curious about you. So when you ended up as my pawn, although I was bitter about how it happened, a part of me was also glad that you were now mine.''

''I see...'' was all I managed to mutter.

Somehow I could tell, she being honest with me. Looking into her violet eyes I could see it, there were no lies or half-truths, just the plain simple honest truth that she was keeping inside her, possibly even eating her up.

''Emiya... do regret the fact that you became my Pawn?''

The way she spoke… even a guy like me who doesn't know the first thing about women could tell that what answer I may give could end up hurting her feelings. I had to tread lightly.

''What I feel is rather complicated... I do somewhat regret becoming a devil, my way of life changing, learning that there are so many things that were hidden from me...'' There still some lingering restraints… if she would have asked me this question at the moment I woke up I would've probably said 'yes', but after taking my time, listening to everyone's backstory and her own explanation, I reached a different conclusion.

I took a deep breath, letting a smile form on my face. ''But I don't regret that you became my master.''

It was the honest truth. I don't regret that she is now my master, I don't know what the future holds or what challenges await me, but it feels reassuring that the person I will be fighting for is someone like her.

Sona Sitri is my master.

''I-Is that so?'' she muttered after a couple of minutes of just blankly staring at me. She turned her back on me, her body squirming lightly.

''…Thank you Emiya.''

The way she behaved was a bit out of character for her, but who am I to judge. ''Just call me Shirou.''

''Very well... Shirou.'' She turned around and greeted me with a smile. It was the first time I saw her smile like this. No matter how much I tried to not think of it, I couldn't help but think how cute she looked.

I really needed this. Suspecting the people around me isn't a pleasant feeling at all, now I feel like a great weight was taken off my shoulders.

''Huh?'' my thoughts were brushed off the moment I heard… music?

More specifically pop music. It wasn't my phone ring tone, so the only possible option was in front of me. ''Is that your phone?''

''A second, just let me see who it-'' the moment she looked at the screen her demeanor changed completely, eyes became narrowed and cold, her previous smile was all gone as her lips formed into a perfect line.

She closed her phone instantly and shoved it back in her pocket, with quite the vigor might I add. Her sudden shift in behavior made me curious to who was calling her. ''… Why didn't you answer?''

She let out a rather annoyed 'tsk' the moment I mention it. ''The person who was calling me… I don't enjoy talking to a man like him.''

Clearly there's more to my master than meets the eye… but I think we talked enough for one night. ''If you say so master.''

This reminded me, I haven't turned on my phone ever since last night. I really should turn it back on, perhaps someone called me. It took about thirty seconds for my phone to turn back on. Upon looking at my missed calls I felt a cold sensation drop in the bottom of my stomach.

''Shirou are you ok?'' She asked with a slight concern in her voice. ''Your face went paper white.''

Noooo…! No, no, no! This isn't good at all! I have to come up with a solid explanation before she calls me agai-

As if some higher plane being was using my misery as a form of personal entertainment, my phone began ringing. My hand shaking as I saw who the caller was. ''Aren't you going to answer?''

I was already sweating bullets, the feeling of pure dread malice filling my bones. I didn't have a choice, if I didn't answer here and now it only make things worse. I had to gamble everything. ''H-Hello?''

['' So you finally decided to pick up your phone.''] Her voice sounded so calm and sweet, but that was making it sound even scarier. [''You better have a good explanation for this Shirou.'']

How I didn't swallow my tongue out of fear it was a complete mystery to me. ''O-Oh... H-Hey there Iri.''

''Shirou you dropped something.''

''Huh?'' I instantly glanced to what I could have dropped, not recalling having anything else in my pocket beside my phone. ''What did I-''

''What is-'' she picked a small circular object from the ground, her face freezing upon seeing what the object was. An unreadable expression forming on her face as turned to me. ''You better have a good explanation for this Shirou.''

…Why?

Just why did my mother have to give me that condom? And why did I just put in my pocket instead of getting rid of it?

Just why did it have to drop out of my pocket at this very moment, and just WHY did my master had to pick it up?!

''Well?'' she asked me as she stared at me with a look that felt like she was trying to drill a hole in my head.

['' Well?''] Iri asked me on the phone with a tone that made me feel like the moment I get home my screams will be heard in the entire neighborhood.

Can't believe I'm saying it, but I would rather go back to fighting for my life against Kurosaiga than deal with this bullshit.

 _ **''Yep. Definitely enjoying my little vacation.''**_

 _Screw you Archer!_

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Oh shit...'' Taiga muttered while bullets of sweat were running down her face.

''Did something happened instructor?'' Illya asked curiously as she never saw Taiga react like this.

''Well... depends how you look at it.'' Taiga scratched the back of her head awkwardly. ''I just checked the Highschool DxD wikia, and it seems that the official backgrounds of most of the Sitri girls have been updated.''

''Say what?'' was what both Illya and Miyu were able to mutter.

''Yep, apparently Ichiei Ishibumi decided that after 23 volumes and 4 extra volumes, it was time he gave some background to the student council members.''

''Umm... doesn't this kinda ruin all the work Ray-san put in creating the backgrounds in this chapter useless.'' Illya asked in fear.

''Pretty much...'' Taiga sighed.

''Do you think he found out?'' Miyu asked.

'' **Son of a g*beep* *beep*ing f*beep*! Why the f*beep* does all this f*beep* s*beep* happen to me? F*beep* my life! Always surrounded by miserable f*beep* c*beep*, like this whole world just likes to bend me over and *beep* me in the *beep*! Like I'm some sort of *beep* receptacle. Well, as far as I care, these miserable c*beep* can have a f*beep* b*beep* with a God damn pig!''**

''...Guess that answers my question.'' Miyu sweat dropped, hear ears not ready for some of the words she just heard..

''Wow, he really went all out this time.'' Taiga whistled at the authors swearing talents.

''He usually doesn't react like that though...'' Illya commented with a flushed face.

''Too much TFS videos if you ask me.'' Taiga shrugged her shoulders. ''For some reason I think he was waiting for the right moment to quote them like this.''

''Won't the fans get mad?'' Miyu asked.

''I think it depends on time and the exact line used.'' Illya nodded.

''I swear if he does the 'push-ups, sit-ups and plenty of juice' line in the story I'm gonna kill myself.'' Taiga swore as she readied her shinai.

''What surprises me is that we were able to hear him, his office is supposed to be sound proof.'' Illya commented.

''Never underestimate the power of getting a fan triggered.'' Taiga shrugged her shoulders.

''Our authors triggered rage aside… Do you think this will affect the story?'' Illya asked concerned about the overall plot of the story.

''Not really, no, I mean it's not like their backgrounds have any relevant importance to the canon story, so it's alright. '' Taiga commented uninterested as she began picking her nose.

''Well that goes to say how much Ichiei Ishibumi loves them.'' Illya commented.

''A bit cold if you ask me.'' Miyu added her two cents.

''Enough nagging and do your thing.'' Taiga ordered.

''Stay tuned for the next chapter 9 'Basic steps.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **So this was it guys, I apologize for the delay and the rather long chapter but I didn't want to make it a 3 part section.**

 **The plot thickens, more secrets are questions are popping up for shirou regarding his family and the secret to his past. But also who is the man that Sona talked on the phone?**

 **So many great things are about to a come.**

 **Anyways I want to address an interesting piece of advice when creating character for a story I came across on youtube. The main concern of an author isn't to make them cool, sexy or strong, but rather try to focus on creating relatable characters, to make them feel real even though they are fictional.**

 **This played a key part in establishing everyone in this chapter as individuals, because as far as I am concerned many authors avoid using the Sitri team as a main focus in a story because they are somewhat 'bland' characters. But here is where I draw a line, it's not that they are bland but rather they never were explored properly, and this in fact can be a very good opportunity to unleash your creative side and give them more depth than the original light novels have done.**

 **Following this advice I tried to give each of the Sitri team members more relatable and realistic backgrounds. I mean seriously while i could use reasoning like vengeance and shit, its way to overrated and overused.**

 **So I'm using people and events that I saw during my life (more exactly my highschool years) I tried to give them backgrounds that you actually met in your everyday life.**

 **Meguri represents the type that wants to get approval for her talents, though struggles with this because of conservative parents.**

 **Kusuka represents those who deal with big financial problems to the point where it ruins personal life and health.**

 **Hanakai represents those who struggle in society and groups due to bad reputation and poor communication skills.**

 **Yura represents those who are mistreated based on physical appearances and struggle to find people to connect with in spite of how you look or how you yourself see your appearance.**

 **Nimura represent those who struggle daily with a disease or condition that affects her everyday life.**

 **Tsubaki represent those who are rejected and pushed aside for not being one of the groups, forced to live a solitary life.**

 **Saji represent those, who for some reason got involved with the wrong kind of people that slowly corrupted him to the point where he ignores when loved ones only want to help.**

 **I think we can all relate to at least one of these types of people.**

 **Some minor changes that I did and some people might want to point out. (you know who you are)**

 **Hanakai's hair. She originally had black hair in the light novels but the anime adaptation made it white, so I decided to make her have dyed hair as a middle ground.**

 **Tsubaki's eyes. Again, in the novels she has heterochromic eyes, one brown other one violet while in the anime she had both eyes brown. So i juggled a bit with some ideas, specifically that devils don't need glasses because they have perfect eyes sight (I'm not making this up, its real dxd trivia). If she can see well, then why wear glasses? She honestly doesn't look like the kind of girl that wears them as a fashion statement, so I decided to make them have an actual function, specifically make her eyes appear normal.**

 **Now I learned that the wiki updated their backgrounds, but I had these ideas planed for a long time before it was released and changing to match the canon would only cause me to keep the story in standby for a lot longer and let's face it, I write slow, and that's when I know what I'm writing, so going to drastically modify some stuff will only slow me down even more. Also after checking their official backgrounds I wasn't really impressed.**

 **So with the exception of Tsubaki and Meguri who had part of their backgrounds revealed long before the others, I created more proper backgrounds for each member out of scratch based on my impression of each character.**

 **For those of you won't didn't understand where the condom at the end came from, go read chapter 4**

 **There's one last thing I want to address before I go. Before you go and tell me that their reasons for becoming devils are stupid or reckless, I want you to keep in mind one important detail.**

 **They're all damn teens!**

 **Doing reckless or flat out stupid decisions is something normal, especially during puberty and all. I for one did a lot of shit during those days that I'm honestly not proud of, and if you factor that each of them went through their little drama at the time, it would have been stupid for them not to accept.**

* * *

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

 **The Weird Kid: You can expect her to appear next chapter.**

 **Kratos1989: Well I- wait did i just read that name right. BRB need to check.**

 **I checked, it confirms. You of all people read my story? YOU?! (insert fangasm sound) I just had a senpai noticed me moment!**

 **My sudden fanboy moment aside, i'm trying to show the story from a different perspective, for that not using the Sitri team would be a total waste, the fact that they are unexplored gives us free hand to work with their characters in interesting ways. And as you can see in this chapter, Saji was indeed a rebel somewhat.**

 **simple405: I'm glad someone noticed it, I for one learned for my past experience with my old fic that rushing things can lead you to disaster (that led to give up the story). So its better to play safe and slow than fast and risk ruining it.**

 **SnapDragon21: Can't really blame you, its been a while since i updated. Also that kinda happens to me with some stories i read so i get ya.**

 **Sacchin: Perhaps it does. Who knows?**

 **White Rider Lost: No he won't. Although now that i think about it...**

 **Silent Evanescence: Its not that i'm avoiding the canon, i'm trying to show it from a different perspective. I can't blame, i tend to cringe when a story is almost the same even though you make it a crossover. I won't go into details, but lets say things aren't as obvious as you think.**

 **Personally** **i have a 10000 word minimum. After i reach that minimum i include omakes, author notes and review answer. About answering the reviews, i know how to use message box i'm not that stupid, but i like to answer my readers curiosity whenever i can, however the reviews pop up at different intervals, so i prefer going through all of them at once. Also in the end the review answering part is at the very end, so people can just stop reading right there since there isn't anything important.**

 **DarkBlight: There will be a reveal later in the story, and i will personally mail you when that chapter is out, and the ask you if you still think its cliche. About the atheist part, perhaps i didn't write the part the way i should have, but when i used it, i didn't mean that shirou doesn't acknowledge the existence of Gods, but rather he doesn't acknowledge them as his own Gods, as someone he worships or believes in. Also try to factor in that he grew up in the Emiya family, and Kiritsugu and Iri don't teach their kids to pray to God before going to sleep or go to the church on Sundays. Even in real life if God's existence was somehow proven, would all humans automatically just start to believe and pray to him? No, they can chose if they want to do that. Its the same case here, Shirou isn't denying the existence of divine beings, he just doesn't submit himself into believing in them.**

 **Ultimate-Zelda-fan: Yes... I couldn't help myself. But i used it in the omake so less cringy.**

 **CM141: I personally made my standard to have a 10000 words minimum while the max should be around 20000. The combined chapter was way over 30000 so i had to split it. It may not seem to you that the last chapter had much plot in it, but i tend to think differently. In the last chapter it focused (i admit not much, but still) on Shirou making a more proper connection with the other sitri members. Most notably Saji who pretty much couldn't stand him, but here he was apologizing and trying to be more nice to him, to me that's progress. A good story doesn't just focus on its overall plot, but on its characters as well. Also i can't rush the plot, i already did that in Guardian of DxD and it resulted in a disaster, so this time i'm taking a slower and safe progress.**

 **SElGl no MlKATA: I already have a beta, but you can't expect him to track every single obscure mistake. If you know anyone who can spot mistakes like a radar and might be interested as my beta i'm all open to try.**

 **Web11211: 1. thanks for confirming that, 2. glad you like it, 3. no spoilers.**

 **: He will, he is just still figuring out the best way to fight.**

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	9. Basic steps

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _Looking back at those old days I can't felt but feel nostalgic_

 _When I was still blind to the truth of my powers_

 _Those were the good days_

 _The days when I learned how to fight_

 _The days I spent with those I called friends and family_

 _... I miss them so much_

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

 **Basic steps**

* * *

''4996…''

About two weeks or so have passed since the whole fiasco with Kurosaiga and my life has been steadily turning to a new direction more or less. After listening to everyone's back stories and my master's motives, I managed to somewhat open up to them, letting my doubts drift away and see them as people I can trust.

My wounds have healed rather quickly, and that was without Kusaka or Hanakai using healing magic on me. Now that I was back in proper shape I started considering what I should do next.

The fact that I won against Kurosaiga had nothing to with talent or brute force. It was all a big mash up of luck and compatible fighting styles. The fact that we were both sword users was what gave me a chance to fight against him.

If I were to fight a different kind of enemy at the moment with my current set of skills and physical prowess, I doubt that I can win. If I were to fight a long range fighter I would be a sitting duck and would be taken out before I even got close enough to use my swords, and I don't even want to imagine what would happen if I fought someone with advance magical skills.

I had to step up my training and find new ways to fight.

''4997…''

No more taking it easy.

But then I asked myself how do I even do that?

Training recklessly can have more bad repercussions than positive ones. If I overwork myself or damage my body by training with more than I am physically capable of enduring I can end up damaging my body to the point where it leaves permanent aftereffects.

The only solution that came to mind was to somehow manage to train my body without causing it any lasting damage regardless of how much I overstep my limits. The answer came when I thought back to the fight I had with Kurosaiga, more specifically about one of the skills that I figured out while fighting him.

 _Reinforcement._

''4998…''

This skill was the perfect way to train without having to worry about damaging my muscles or bones.

While using reinforcing on my body does indeed increase my overall brute physical strength exponentially, it was only temporary and the weaker my body was the more I had to compensate and reinforce it, consuming more and more prana, putting a bigger strain on my body.

So I thought about it this way. If I can use reinforcement to make my body more durable, I can train beyond my normal limits without having to worry about damaging it.

The trick to this was only to reinforce my muscle fibers and bones to the point where they're only durable, not stronger. This way I can work them while keeping my own natural physical strength, otherwise I'm just cheating my way and don't work them properly.

''4999…''

By our nature we have limits on our bodies, said limits that if we try to overcome can cause irreversible damage to us. Because of this whenever we try to work our muscles beyond their limit the brain will send us signals in the form of pain.

Take the push-ups that I was currently doing. On days that I'm rested and in overall good health I can easily reach one hundred, one hundred and fifty if I really push myself. But it's there that my brain starts sending me signals in the form of muscle pain to tell me to stop, otherwise I would keep on going until the my muscles rip themselves. However, if my muscles are durable enough to handle the strain then the brain won't send me any signals, and I can pretty much work my muscles until the point I reach my new limit with reinforcement, or when I ran out of prana or stamina.

The end result:

''5000...!''

I can do fifty times my natural limit. The only downside is that it drains my stamina quite fast, that and the amount of strain that follows is quite a handfull. Tiresome, yes, painful, most definitely, but overall still manageable.

A dry sigh escaped my lips as I sat on the floor of my room, I think that was about enough of physical training for today. Grabbing a nearby towel I started whipping myself and the puddle of sweat that formed where I worked out.

After thinking about it for a while I realized that I have to be careful what type of physical exercises I'm doing. I'm a swordsman so I'm looking to develop myself for fast and precise movements while still developing a proper amount of brute strength. I can't just go and lift weights like some wannabe bodybuilder with too much free time, I need to carefully make it so it doesn't affect my speed and coordination.

For now I'm doing basic exercises, but I'm elevating them by using reinforcement.

I guess some times basic things are more useful than complicated ones.

 _Knock, knock._

''It's open.'' I said as I turned towards the door. Raising my hand and greeting my visitor. ''Morning Liz.''

''Gutten morgen.'' She replied in her usual stoic demeanor, but after living with her for so many years I can tell how she feels, now for instance she is in a good mood. The moment she entered the room she stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at me as, her she raised her hand and grabbed her nose. ''It stinks here.''

Huh… now that she mentions it the air in here is a bit nasty, guess keeping the window closed while I was sweating like crazy wasn't such a good idea.

''Were you in the middle of stress relieving?'' she asked flatly, her voice muffled by the way she was holding her nose.

''I guess you can call it that.'' I nodded slightly at her, and I have to admit that working out does have a somewhat nice feeling to it, also helps one get rid of boredom.

Liz seemed to stare for a while at me, appearing to ponder about something. After about a minute or so she spoke again. ''Do you need a hand?''

I was a bit surprised by her offer, but she was a bit late to be honest. ''Nah it's okay, I just finished for today. Maybe some other time.''

''If you say so.'' She commented nonchalantly as she turned and walked out, tilting her head at the door frame before leaving. ''Sella was looking for you, better meet up with her before she starts bragging like a middle-aged housewife.''

I could only stare as she left and couldn't help but wonder how much Liz has changed since the first time I met her. From the person who had so much trouble talking before, now can really let out a sharp tongue. Well it's mostly for Sella… but I guess is fine, siblings tend to bicker back and forth. Not my case since Illya and I get , but Mitsuzuri always complains about all the times she ends up hitting heads with her little brother.

 _ **''Are you for real now?''**_ the sudden remark of Archer waked me out of my thinking.

 _''Well there goes my peace and quiet... morning Archer. Something wrong?''_

 _ **''Just trying to avoid a migraine. That little discussion you just had with that woman, did it occur to you for at least one second that she might have been implying something else?''**_

I couldn't help but tilt my head at that. _''Like what?''_

 _Smack_

I blinked confused at what I just heard. _''... Did you just hit yourself in the face?''_

 _ **''Yeah... extra hard.''**_ he groaned in pain at me.

 _''... Why?''_

 _ **''Nothing... just realizing that the old expression young and foolish was far more accurate than I gave it credit for.''**_

I narrowed my eyes at this, feeling slightly annoyed for some reason. _''What's that supposed to mean?''_

 _ **''You'll understand when you grow up...''**_ And just like that he had the last word in our talk... again.

 _''Whatever... If you're quite done I'm a bit busy.''_

After a few minutes of calming down I went to take a shower, this time carefully knocking on the door a few times. To my relief there wasn't anyone in there and was able to take a shower in peace. It was about time I began making some progress.

As I enjoyed the sensation of the water cleansing my body, I was mentally getting prepared for what will happen after I'm done with my shower.

It was lecture time with Sella.

* * *

I rubbed the back of my head as I listened to Sella's little lecture, my eyes drifting for a moment and checking the little 'workshop' we managed to make.

Due to the risk of Illya walking in on us while she was teaching me about magecraft, we decided that we can't do it in the house. Illya aside, Sella told me that when we start practicing magecraft there will be the risk of spells backfiring so it could cause damage to the house.

However, we couldn't just do it outside where the neighbors could see and hear what we were doing. So the solution was to find a place to turn into my workshop. The only place that was close by but also separated from the house was the old shed in the backyard.

I didn't particularly mind using it, but Sella kept nagging that a dusty old place like this shouldn't be used as a workshop, but we didn't really have any other alternative.

It was a bit of hassle to empty, clean and repair it so it can be used as a proper structure but I think I did a good job. I also came up with a good cover story for Illya. Since I ended with Kurosaiga's motorcycle I told her that a friend asked me if I can repair it, and that's why I spend so much time in here. Well that isn't a lie per se since I am actually tinkering with it and trying to repair it.

From what Sella explained to me a workshop is the very heart of a person who is studying magecraft. One can't just leave magically related items and documents in plain sight, so a workshop comes in play, a place to stash those said magically related objects, and generally use it as study and practice room for your craft. Making sure it's safe and secure is a major priority of any respectable magus.

''Very well Shirou, now that we covered all the basic required theories concerning magecraft, it's time we start the practical part.'' Sella explained professionally to me, similar to a teacher holding a seminary to her students, heck she even a small metal pointer.

The past weeks Sella has been drilling in my head the basic foundations to understanding, analizing and utilizing magecraft, and boy it wasn't easy that's for sure.

Magecraft or otherwise known as Thaumaturgy is based on the idea of artificially recreating miracles through the use of prana.

One who practices this form of mystical art is called magus. While there are different names depending on the exact branch of thaumaturgy one practices, such as alchemist, exorcist, necromancer, and so on, they are generally all referred by the term magus.

It was vastly different from what I was told and read concerning how devil magic worked. The devil's side seemed more simple and easier to understand, while magecraft was more akin to a form of science, everything relied on pre established theory and it was all followed by carefully planned logic.

One of the first things that I learned from Sella is the difference for what devils call magic and what we mages call magic.

Magic is a term used by devils and other supernatural beings in general, a difference in wording here and there, but it's the same concept to all of them.

To a mage on the other hand, the concept of using _true_ _magic_ is creating a literal miracle, something that can't be replicated no matter the amount of time, technology or resources. It's something that simply can't be reproduced no matter what, something that can only be explained as magic.

There might have been other forms of true magic in the past, but due to how human technology advanced, they simply lost their status as true magic. In the past some rather mundane things today would have been considered magic.

An example I can think of is surviving under water. It was always humanly impossible to stay under water for more than a few minutes before starting to suffocate. In the past such a feat would have only been possible only with the use of magic, but nowadays it is possible to stay underwater for long periods of time with the help of diving equipment, or by utilizing a submarine. Another one would be flying, humans could never soar in the sky as they physically lacked any wings to take flight. They could have done it with the help of magic in the past, but now after many years of research and trial they can fly higher than any bird it by using airplanes.

It was certainly confusing at first, but Sella told me to forget what I learned about magic from my master and concentrate on what she will teach me and use that as my basis. I was somewhat reluctant to do it, but then she asked me how well I was doing learning to do magic their way.

Point taken, I just shut up and did as she said.

However, what truly got me confused was what Sella asked me to when we started these lessons. She made me swear to keep secret everything that she will teach me.

She didn't give me the exact details to why, but apparently one of the foundation that magecraft functions upon is the power of mystery. The more hidden and obscure a form of magecraft is, the stronger and potent it becomes. As such the more people know of it and how it works its mystery is lost, thus it power is greatly reduced.

To put it in perspective let's say that there is a spell that could generate a flame the size of a tower if it's only known by selected few. If a hundred people knew it then its size and power gets reduced to the size of a house, if a thousand people know of it then it gets reduced to the size of a desk and so on until it becomes a small fire ball.

Things lose their value if everyone can obtain them, thus their very usefulness is lost.

Even if I trust the others enough to tell them what my powers can do, the risk of the information getting spread is very rather high. As such she made me promise that no matter who asks me I won't go into details about my magecraft. While she allowed me to tell if it's necessary what my magecraft can do, she forbid me from explaining the exact process and details about how I'm doing it.

In a more simple way, if for instance someone asked me what my reinforcement does I can tell them, but I can't explain the exact way how I'm doing it. Well it wasn't like I wanted to go around and tell people what I can do, yet I found it very curious to how adamant she was about keeping it a secret.

''But before we do that I need to check your circuits, so turn around take of your shirt off.'' She explained as she sat next to me. Nodding awkwardly I did as she said, normally she would freak out if I walked in the house shirtless and here she was asking me to take off my shirt. Oh, how things keep changing.

 _Magic Circuits._

It's due to these magic circuits that determine if a human is capable of becoming a magus and performing magecraft or not. Every magus is born with a set number of circuits inside them, acting almost like a circulatory system designed to handle magical energy.

From what I understood, they don't physically exist inside of the body, like a vein or an organ, but rather they exist inside of the very soul of a magus and it's impossible for non-magical enhanced objects to affect them in any way. You could get shot with normal bullets all over your body and circuits would still intact.

… Although I don't think it would matter that much if the bullets kill you.

I took a deep breath as I felt Sella's soft palm tracing on my back. This was beyond awkward for me, not because of circuit checking part, but rather the way Sella's fingers felt on my skin. I pinched my leg and pulled hard. Bad boy Shirou! Don't think anything weird dammit!

''Stay still.'' She demanded quite strongly, I nodded and stood still. After continuing for a few seconds she suddenly stopped. ''Shirou did you by any chance felt any numbness in your body recently?''

This came out of nowhere and surprised me a little. ''Not that I can remember…''

''Even after your little hunt a while ago?'' she asked carefully as she placed her hand at the very center of my spine.

I took a second and thought carefully about it, now that she mentions it my left side felt somewhat 'off' when I woke at my master's home. ''… Well I have been rather sore, but that's to be expected.''

It was weird, I couldn't see her face but I could tell that something wasn't right from the way the heat from her skin dropped. ''So it's as I thought. During that fight with Neculai your circuits were forcefully activated.''

The sudden mention of Neculai made my chest throb, though I didn't understand what that had to do with anything. ''Is that a bad thing?''

''Very.'' She stated seriously, while Sella has always been a serious person, this was different from her usual self. ''A magus can't activate his circuits for the first time alone, he needs someone with proper training to do it for him and the process is a delicate one, if done wrongly it can cause irreversible damage to them as well as the physical body. Then sudden influx of raw power that took you over that time has forcefully opened them. It didn't help that you got yourself into another life or death battle and was forced to subconsciously utilize your circuits without knowing the proper steps. Using them blindly can be dangerous both for you and the nearby people, I'm honestly surprised that they didn't cause any lingering aftereffects.''

This put me a little on the edge. I thought that I was getting closer to understanding how my powers worked during my fight with Kurosaiga, but it seems I was still not grasping the full picture and literally played Russian roulette when I tried using my powers, it was either win or die at that time. ''Out curiosity, what aftereffects could have occurred?''

''There have been cases of circuit misfiring leading to actual necrosis of the flesh.'' She explained in a neutral tone. ''Luckily for you, the aftershock wasn't too strong so your circuits weren't damaged, also there doesn't seem to be any physical aftereffects. Think of it like getting a strong punch, just a little bruising but nothing serious.''

I swallowed nervously… I could deal with stab wounds and get myself bashed into a wall, but necrosis is something I _really_ don't to want to give a try.

''However, the awakening process wasn't a complete one. '' she continued as she placed her hand on the nape of my neck. ''The initial shock had indeed awakened a part of your circuits, but not all of them.''

''So what are you gonna do?'' I asked curiously, for some reason a tinge of panic began forming in me.

''This.'' She placed her hand in the middle of my back.

''What are- Gahh!'' I gasped for air as pain akin to getting electrocuted surged through my back all over my body, burning stabs throbbing in my muscles. A final heavy gasp escaped my lips as I supported myself on my arms, cold sweat running down my face, the pain was only there for a few seconds but it still stunned me. ''- a little warning next time…''

''Noted, now put your shirt back on.'' She said as she got up and walked in front of me. ''Good, all of your circuits have been opened, and they all seem to functioning properly. The bad part is even though you have an above average number of circuits, their overall quality is rather low due to years of inactivity. You can't increase their number, but in time and proper training you may increase the capacity of prana they can handle.''

Magical energy, otherwise known as prana, is the fuel to enacting magecraft. While the circuits are like pipe lines that carry it, prana is the gasoline required for the engine known as magecraft to run.

It can be found in two sources.

The first source is mana, the prana naturally generated by the world itself, existing in the atmosphere like an invisible gas, one that can be manipulated and used by someone with the proper skills and knowledge. The downside is that it takes time and careful processing in order for one to use it.

The second source is known Od, the prana found within living beings. Unlike the mana which is large in quantity, Od on the other is much smaller in quantity but its far more easy to process as it exists inside of your own body.

To compare them quantity wise is like comparing a swimming pool to an ocean.

While their names may be different, they are in essence the same type of raw state energy that once processed by ones circuits becomes prana.

In order for any type of spell to be used prana must be used as fuel to make it work. It all ties to one of the basic principles of thaumaturgy, the concept of equivalent exchange. In order for something to be obtained something of equal worth must be offered in exchange... something that I don't like the sound off but I'm no position to complain. This is why the quantity and quality of circuits are crucial, because they are the ones that determine the amount of prana one can use. The bigger their quality and number, the more power output the magus is able to produce.

Sella managed to identify the number of circuits I possess the first lesson we had, and she seemed surprised by the number. I have twenty-seven, which is a bit above the normal magus average of about twenty. The problem I'm facing is that their quality is rather low, I will need to constantly train and practice them in order for my capacity to grow.

I got up and stretched my left arm, although what Sella did to me felt a bit painful, my body somehow felt much better than before. ''Now what?''

''We should try something basic that doesn't require elemental alignment or advance knowledge.'' She went to a nearby table and took a tray filled with different kinds of pieces of metal. ''Have you memorized the steps for channeling prana that I thought you?'' I nodded as she placed the tray in front of me and took her seat. ''Good, then I can teach you how to use some basic spells, let's start with Structural Grasping. The first step you need to do is-''

''Ah, I already know how to do that.'' I replied, cutting her off.

''-And if you already know how to do that, all need you to do-'' she stopped talking mid sentence and looked at me confused. ''Come again?''

''Structural grasping, I know how to do it.''

She stared at me for a couple to seconds, her eyes narrowing in an annoyed scowl. ''… Shirou if this is some kind of joke I'm not laughing.''

The stare she was giving me made me instantly put up my hands up in defense. ''No I'm serious, I know how to do it.''

She crossed her arms and stared in my eyes. ''And just how did you learn it?''

''Well you know how I went stray devil hunting a while back?'' I asked her, to which she nodded in response. ''I kinda learned it on the spot admits the fight.''

Judging by her face she wasn't buying it. ''Are you telling me that you learned a spell, regardless of how easy and mundane it is, in the middle of a fight, just like that ?''

This conversation was starting to make me feel really awkward, my left hand starting to rub the back of my neck. ''Well, I did kind of learn it after I figured out how to use reinforcement…''

''Reinforcement?!'' She snapped at me, her sudden shouting almost making me stumble backwards.

I blinked nervously at her. ''… Did I say something wrong?''

''Shirou that spell is one of the most difficult enhancement spells, while I admit it isn't a very important one as research subject and most tend to ignore it, but it's still something that even first-rate mages have difficulty using.'' She explained, although her voice and appearance gave a rather cold impression, I could see the concern in her eyes regarding my safety. ''If you aren't careful with the flow of prana you could end up having the object you are trying to reinforce shatter right in front of you and injure yourself.''

I suddenly felt like a child who was caught playing with matches and was feeling ashamed. ''Well it's not like I tried reinforcing any object, I used it mostly on myself so-''

''You what?!'' and like that the decibels in her voice skyrocketed once again.

''Umm…'' I honestly didn't know what to say since apparently whatever I said was making the situation even worse.

''That's even more reckless Shirou!'' the frustration on her face was all too present as she pressed her palm against her face. ''If you use it without proper training you could cripple yourself, and that's one of the more pleasant results.''

''I didn't really know that…'' I was honest with her, while I did learn how reinforcement works and how to use it, I never knew that misusing can have drastic side effects. ''I just went with the flow.''

''With the flow he says…'' if the way she rubbed her temples was any indication, she was getting tired of this situation. She was silent for about a minute before she decided to talk again.

''Can't believe I'm doing this.'' She took a nearby metal pipe and placed it in front of me. ''Try reinforcing this.''

I simply nodded and took hold of the pipe. My eyes closed as a deep breath escaped my lips, clearing my mind of unnecessary thoughts.

''Trace on.''

I didn't notice it when battling Kurosaiga but in order to use reinforcement I have to keep in mind the required steps, similar to the ones I go through when projecting. Up until now I've been constantly repeating them over and over again every time I reinforced myself. Now they were like a reflex each time I tried to use reinforcement.

 _Begin synchronization._

I felt as prana circulated in me, making its way to the pipe at my fingertips, making a mental bridge between my living body and the inanimate piece of metal.

 _Analyzing composite materials._

Corrosion has affected thirty-five percent of the surface and inside of the pipe, unable to be utilized due to risk of rust contaminating the liquid circulating through it, resistance to shock and impact has reduced due to deterioration of the main metallic components.

 _Reinforcing composite materials._

Filling the void spaces within the metallic bonds of the pipe with prana, further increasing the density of the metal, stabilizing molecular structure of the body. Strengthening the shock absorption properties of the metal, supplementing the corroded zones with extra prana to compensate for the lost properties.

Bypassing the limitation of the original creation.

 _All processes complete._

I opened my eyes and checked the end result in my hands, satisfied with them. The old rusty pipe that long-lost its usage could now shatter any new pipe with ease. What did surprise however was that Sella wasn't looking at the pipe and instead was staring at me. ''Shirou what was that aria just now?''

''Huh? Aria?'' I took a moment and processed what she asked me.

''Those words you said when you started using reinforcement were obviously a form of aria, where did you hear them?''

Now that she mentions it, I've been using it, yet I don't know where I learned it in the first. ''I… don't know honestly… it just felt like the right thing to say at the moment.''

''Shirou remember when I taught you that for a magus the words in an aria have a deep meaning, they act as a mental trigger in order for the user to properly use their magic circuits. It can either be an established one or a personalized one, but I didn't teach you any form of one… so you just learned one simply like that? ''

I didn't really know what to say, it's just happened on the spot and I didn't give it so much importance at the time and it became something that felt natural to me.

She took a moment and pitched the bridge of her nose. ''… I'm so glad my hair is naturally white, otherwise it would have turned white because of you.''

She seemed to brush all of that aside and took the pipe I reinforced, carefully examined it, her eyes slowly widening with each passing moment, her mouth unhinging and opening. '' Incredible… It's almost a perfect reinforcement. Normally mages avoid reinforcing an object to its utmost limits do to the risk of overloading it with prana and causing a failure, and here you reinforced it near its limits.''

''… Thank you?'' In all honestly I didn't know how I should react.

She didn't react or look at me and instead cupped her chin with her hand and kept starring at the reinforced pipe. ''There's no way you reach this kind level of reinforcement application in such a small amount of time, it would be impossible even if you were a prodigy. Something definitely isn't right here.'' Her eyes kept switching between me and the pipe, widening as if she just realized something crucial. ''Shirou… was there any other spell besides structural grasping and reinforcement that you learned, err, with the flow.''

I lightly nodded my head. ''There was one more, it's called projection.''

''Projection?'' She blinked a couple of times confused at what I just said. ''Oh, you mean Gradation Air.''

She pondered for a moment, while I do know that the spell it's called gradation air I prefer calling it projection. ''Well that certainly is a useless and incomplete spell.''

For a moment I felt a little indignation. Why would she call a spell that allows me to replicate weapon useless? If it weren't for projecting I wouldn't have survived the fight with Kurosaiga.

''So you learned structural grasping, reinforcement and projection.'' She cupped her chin and wondered back and forth in the room, clearly trying to dissect every piece of information she received. ''All of them are mundane and basic in their application, and not remarkable in improvement of magecraft. Yet learning all of them on such short notice and actually having a proper control over them shouldn't be possible, unless… ''

Her reaction really made me worry as she just froze in place, her eyes widening. ''Sella what's wrong?''

''It's something that's bother me since the night we were attacked. About what you turned into in order to save me.'' I felt a twitch in my chest as she told me that, truth be told my memory is still foggy about what happened when I called forth the cards power. Even after so much time has passed and I started to gradually get a better grasping of everything, I still can't get my finger around what truly happened to me. ''That was without a doubt a Heroic spirit presence I sensed in you when you transformed.''

I took a moment and took that in, my hand reaching for face.

Heroic spirits…

There was a lot of complicated stuff and information, but from what I understand in the lectures about spiritual entities, heroic spirits are the souls of heroes who achieved great renown in life, their legends and legacies becoming the foundation to their ascension upon death to the metaphysical plane of existence known as the Throne of Heroes, cutting them off from the concept of space and time, forever protecting them, should time pass and all records of them vanish they will still continue existing within the throne.

The power of a heroic spirit is as far beyond a normal human just as far beyond exploding volcano is above a normal fire. Even if many of them were just regular humans by birth, it's due to the legends that were passed down along the years that had empowered them far beyond the human limits.

Sella told me that once a person has ascended to the throne of heroes and became a heroic spirit, they become far too powerful for a human to call upon their power. She said that besides being impossible to summon the real existence from within the throne, even if one by some miracle did achieve that it would be impossible to establish a contract with the one, because their power will overwhelm the summoner.

She explained that there are some ways to create containers that can house a part of their essence and power. One of which is the creation of a servant familiar, a method of binding a heroic spirit to one by creating a master-servant contract.

Basically one is summoning a weaker copy of the original heroic spirit existing within the throne of heroes. Though I say copy, their powers are still formidable.

There were still many things we didn't discuss about concerning this subject. Sella said that we will go further in detail when she elaborates the Third True Magic, Heaven's feel.

And here I learn that I may or may not have the powers of a heroic spirit within me... well that's a thing.

''I have a theory, it's a bit far-fetched, but it could explain some questions. '' I tensed as I heard this, an answer to what has been happening to me might just be at hand. ''There is a small possibility that those spells were once practiced by the heroic spirit that you transformed into.''

I narrowed my eyes at her, getting cut of before I could ask. ''You mentioned before that a card was what triggered the transformation. I never heard of magecraft that allowed for a human to control the powers of a heroic spirit, and even if they did there should be repercussions of using power of that magnitude. While I don't know the exact way the card you used functions, it clearly created a spiritual link between you and the hero which the card contains.''

''There is magecraft that allows transfer, or sharing of knowledge. So it is possible due to link you share you were able to instinctively learn some of his abilities.'' I took a moment and digested this. This could explain how I instinctual knew how to use them, and how I suddenly was able to learn how to wield swords I never saw before. ''However, we must remember that we aren't talking about a human, but a heroic spirit. In theory, it should be possible, but even if you were to receive some of the knowledge possessed by the heroic spirit, it may as well be something you can't even begin to understand, because the times in which most of the heroes lived were far too different from our own, and the concept of magecraft and magic differed very much. Not to mention you barely have basic knowledge in modern magecraft, but in this case you might have learned them because they aren't complicated spells in nature.''

I guess that makes sense in a way. The way to utilize them isn't difficult in theory, but the side effects can be quite noticeable. Reinforcement puts quite the burden on my body the further I try to take it and projecting causes my body to feel like fire and electricity is running through it. Hmm, now that I think about I don't know what side effects structural grasping has, better look into it later.

''I don't know what kind of mage or warrior whose powers you used was, but something tells me he was an unorthodox magecraft user from a magus perspective. Shirou if you learn any other spells this way be sure to tell me, it might give us a lead to who he is and help you understand the real nature of his abilities. All that aside… the fact that you know these spells already gives you a basic understanding on how to control your prana how you utilize it. While I find the whole situation a bit odd and rather concerning, it saves us valuable time.''

I guess that is a good choice. Sella has been drilling in my head the steps and procedures how to handle and process prana before we actually started practicing it.

''You already seem to have a clear understanding on how to channel and control your prana, and the fact that you can use reinforcement to that extent shows that you have a rather good sense of concentration and visualization. I guess we can skip some steps and advance further.'' She nodded and got up from her seat. ''We should try and figure out your elemental alignment and origin to figure out what type of magecraft you will most suited for.''

It took me a moment to nod at her suggestion. ''Okay, I know about elemental alignment, but what's an origin?''

''Think of it as defying trait that is entwined with the very core of a person. Every living being has what's called an origin, an aspect that was derived from Root and took form within them from the day they are born. Origins all carry with them certain traits or defying characteristics often being concepts or ideas. You can consider them an intrinsic feature buried within each living entity, depending on the individual one's origin can greatly influence one behavior or abilities. However, there are many cases when it remains dormant and never manifests.''

I took a moment and processed all of this. Now that she mentioned the Root I still have a hard time getting my head around it.

The Akashic Records, or more commonly known as the Root is a metaphysical plane of existence from where all souls originate from and which where they return to after death. It serves as a record of past, present and future events occurring in the infinite number of possible reality. Calling it the very core of the universe is a fairly accurate, if not an understatement.

From what I understood reaching the Root is the end goal of any traditional magus, as doing so would be the ultimate form of enlightenment for a person, somewhat similar to how Buddhists strive to reach nirvana. By reaching and getting access to all information from beginning to the end of time one would know virtual everything. The origin of all life, the way to undo death, even all cooking recopies ever made. In a sense one would become a God.

That however is impossible since there almost no actual ways to reach it. That's why the traditional magus try to develop their magecraft with whatever research they can use in order to create a stable pathway to the root.

While I could understand how much good one could do with that power, the price that one might have to pay for this could be far too great… I reached this conclusion when Sella told me of some of the things mages did in attempt to reach the Root… it made me disgusted to call myself a magus.

But I should get back to the topic at hand.

''I think I get the basic picture. Then what's your origin Sella?''

She gently shook her head. ''Unfortunately Shirou because I am a homunculus I don't possess an origin. I do possess elemental alignment like any other magus, but I lack an origin.''

There was a slight twitch in my lip, recalling what I discovered about what a homunculus truly is.

''About that, Sella I…'' The words seemed to get entangled in my mouth, perhaps it would have been better to not bring it up.

She noticed this, her eyes softening slightly as she placed her hand over my shoulder. ''Shirou what's the matter?''

''Well…'' I slowly began, trying to find the best way to explain this without causing any misunderstandings. ''I recently read in a book about what being a homunculus means … and I was surprised by what I found out…''

''… I see.'' Her eyes half closed and drifted to the side, the air around appearing to get heavier, a sense of distance building between us even though we are so close to each other.

''Sella…'' God dammit… This kind of reaction was the one I wanted to avoid. Seeing people suffer always has always been a thing I fundamentally couldn't keep a closed eye to… causing someone to suffer with my own hands was even worse… especially if that someone was someone I cared about. I had to correct this somehow. ''It said in it that most homunculus have short life spans. So it made me worry about you and the others.''

She just stared at me for a few moments, blinking continuously before her eyes widen. ''Wait… That's what worried you?''

Something told me that I was consciously emulating her confused blinking. ''Of course it worries me! I'm talking about my family here, there's no way I wouldn't be.''

She was certainly taken-aback by my answer. ''For a moment I thought you were bother by something else.''

''Like what?'' I tilted my head confused, just what could have been the reason to her react that way.

She was silent once again, clearly trying to search for the right words, her hand nervously rubbing her opposite arm. ''The fact that we aren't real humans.''

Oh. Oh!

Man I'm such a knucklehead sometimes. Ever since I met her she has spent every day trying her best to act and think like a regular human in order to give me an Illya a 'normal' life. She was concerned about what I would think about her now that I found out she technically has been lying about what she is all this time, it wouldn't be surprising if one would find this concerning if not feel upset that she has been lying all this time. However, this is me we're talking about.

''I actually was never bothered by that now that I think about it, didn't even gave it any importance and to be honest it doesn't really matter to me.'' I answer with an honest smile, even though I have learned that Sella, Liz and Iri and not human, I can't think of them as something else. ''I mean that doesn't change who you are or how I feel about you, at the end of the day we're still family.''

Her red orbs kept starring into my amber ones, as if trying to search for any trace of doubt or lie, a small chuckled escaping her mouth when she was done.

''I swear Shirou, you really can say some sweet words sometimes.'' A soft smile formed on her lips, putting me to ease, but also reminding me that Sella is actually really pretty when she smiles. ''Also there is no need to worry. While it's true me, Liz and your mother once had to face the weight of a short life span, it has been taken care of. Your father pulled some strings and made it so our life spans got vastly prolonged.''

I took a moment and processed what she said, my head feeling a little light as I crashed in a nearby chair, a heavy sigh escaped my mouth as I placed my hand over my face. ''Thank God, I was really worried about you three.''

''You really should leave the worrying to the adults.'' She got up walked towards me, placing her hand on my chest, bright neon marks appearing on it. ''We should go back to work.''

* * *

''I can't believe this…'' Sella muttered in a strained voice.

The process of determining my origin was interesting to say the least. Once Sella figured what it was she didn't seem too eager about the result and checked again, after that she insisted we perform an elemental alignment test, which I didn't really see the need since I already knew from that time when me and Saji got tested.

After we tested my elemental alignment, Sella once again didn't seem to like the result and double-checked, which bring us here.

Scratching the back of my head awkwardly I decided to find out what was going on. ''Do I lack an origin or something?''

''I'm not really sure what to think about this.'' She answered with a sigh. ''Shirou, your elemental alignment and origin are the same, both are 'sword'. You are a physical incarnation of the 'sword' concept.''

I crossed my arm and leaned against a wall. ''Well, I'm a bit lost here, is being an incarnation such a bad thing?''

''No, it's actually very rare and by having both an element and origin of the same nature you can enact new phenomena's of mysteries that were never seen before.''

''Then it's a good thing.''

She gently shook her head. ''It is, but at the same time it isn't Shirou, in this case I think its points more to the latter. The fact that you are an incarnation of a sword makes you at a spiritual level in tune to spells that are related to sword and probably other weapons, and only those spells alone. You won't be able to master elemental spells no matter how hard you try because you have a magical fixation of one type. In fact, you would be lucky if you can even master basic elemental spells.''

Well… that's a bummer. So if I was ever hoping to create and manipulate elemental attacks the way the others in our peerage can, I can kiss those thought's goodbye. While it's not of matter of me personally wanting to do stuff like that, it did look useful and could come in handy in combat, but I digress, I have to make do with what I have. ''… But you can still teach me magecraft, right?''

She seemed to nod a bit reluctantly. ''This drastically cuts down what I can teach you. I will have to focus on spells that don't require certain elemental alignments. Still, I guess this could explain why you didn't have any problems with reinforcement and the other spells you learned, those are spells that doesn't require any form of elemental alignment.''

I started rubbing the back of my neck unsure of what to really feel about this whole situation. ''That's a start I guess…''

''We might as well get over what I can teach you here and now.'' She got up and picked a piece of chalk from a nearby desk, carefully writing on an old blackboard that was on the wall. ''For now we should concentrate on teaching you these forms of magecraft.''

When she was done she turned around and let me see what she wrote down. Carefully indication at the first one with her metal pointer.

 _Memory Manipulation_

''The first rule that a magus must respect no matter what is to maintain the secrecy of the supernatural, so one of the first spell that one should learn is one that can alter the memories of someone.''

I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. ''I don't know Sella, not sure I'm comfortable with messing with someone's memories.''

She narrowed her eyes, seriousness all present in them. ''It's necessary Shirou. Letting regular humans witness supernatural events and not alter their memories can be dire. In certain situations many go out and completely silence the witness. Altering their memories is more of act of kindness to both them and their loved ones.''

My eyes closed for a few seconds a deep frown throbbing on my face… but I had to let it go, there's wasn't anything I could do… at the moment that is. ''... I understand.''

 _Alchemy_

''The basic principle of alchemy is the manipulation and flow of materials. Considering you're magical specialization, learning alchemy will help you gain a better understanding of materials and how to manipulate and control them. You will have to dive a bit in it theoretically since it heavily relies on chemistry, so understanding the structure of matter, decomposing it, and then reconstructing it is a must.''

While it does sound a bit complicated, it also sounds like it will be helpful. Understanding the materials that forms a weapon will certainly help me get a better image of how they are meant to be used.

 _Healing Magecraft_

''Considering your tendency of getting hurt this one would probably be perfect choice for you.'' Sella remarked with narrowed eyes towards me, clearly struggling not to roll them.

I tried my best not to look like what she said ruffled my feathers, but I'm pretty sure I was failing. ''… I don't get hurt that often.''

''Shirou...''

I sighed and scratched my face. ''… Okay, maybe I do get hurt sometimes.''

''Shirou, you were often getting hurt even before you learned of the supernatural. Things like stepping in the middle of fights trying to protect the victims, confronting bullies from picking on people, even rescuing cats of all things from reckless fools. ''

I ruffled my hair and sighed in defeat. ''Fine, I get hurt a lot. Also, I don't go around saving cats on a basis, it was a onetime thing and those lunatics tried to beat it with a crowbar.''

''You say that but it didn't spare me of the scare I went through when you came back from that field trip with your face in black and blue.'' She sighed with a tired voice, making me feel that perhaps she was right. It all happened when I was on a field trip with the class to a historical temple outside of the city. One thing led to another and I stumbled upon a group of older kids trying to beat a cat with a crowbar shouting that it was possessed. Naturally I stepped in and tried to stop it, the boys on the other hand weren't in such a good mood and decided to take it out on me. As one could expect I ended up in a pretty nasty state, but at least the cat was fine. Thinking back, although Sella was always a strict and cold towards me, she was very panicked and concerned when she saw my bruised face… I must have really given her a scare that time.

My train of thought was cut off when I heard Sella tapping on the blackboard with the chalk. ''Moving on, healing magecraft usually revolves around recovering the flesh of injured and of detoxification, but before you say anything, it's not as simple as it sounds. The technique itself utilizes the magus prana as fuel to drastically accelerate the natural healing rate of the injured. However, that's just the easy part as you, the one performing the healing must have a good understanding about the nature of the injury itself and must guide, control and focus the prana to that exact injury. Also, you must remember that you can't heal something that isn't there, so if a member gets severed you can't use it to grow a new one, but instead you must reattach it and carefully heal it back to its original state.''

''Let's imagine you somehow got laceration wound, you must concentrate the prana into the injured area and carefully reattach the severed blood vessels, muscle fibers and skin cells.'' I slowly nodded, this one is something that I will really need to learn, and that way I can heal people in need and prevent them from dying from injuries. 'If you want to properly utilize healing magecraft you will need to understand the human physiology. For that you must properly study human anatomy.''

 _Material Transmutation_

''This is a side branch of alchemy that you will probably find enjoyable. It involves spells that interfere with the properties of an object. Reinforcement and Projection are part of it so the other subjects it contains will certainly be a good match you, not only help you understand what you already know at a much deeper level, but also other theories and skills that can be applied to them.''

Hmmm… if there are others spells similar to those they will probably come in handy just as well as the others do.

 _Transference of Consciousness_

''This one allows to transmit one's consciousness into another object to acquire information from a different perspective. Widely used by magi on their familiars or dolls to remotely control them at a distance as well as to perform spiritual possession of inanimate objects. You will probably get a familiar of some kind one day, and this type of spell will perfect for controlling and gather information using its body as if were your own, think of it like perceiving the world through the of eyes and ears of a different creature.''

I tilted my head at this, slightly confused. ''So kinda like a pet?''

''Not exactly, but many mages chose animals that are fast and do not gather too much attention from non-magic aware people.'' She stopped as she seemed to realize something important. ''If it isn't too much to ask, when you get a familiar please try and get one without fur, it's a real pain to vacuum out of the rugs.''

Well I guess we won't be getting a cat or a dog anytime soon… a bird perhaps? Maybe a parrot?

 _Runecraft_

''Personally I think that runecraft would be a good choice for you as the runes themselves enact the spells and could allow you to use elemental spell even though you lack the normally required elemental alignment. However, there's a small problem, while I do know the theory and concept of utilizing runes, I don't know any of the runes themselves to teach them to you.''

Well I guess that explains some stuff... If I recall Kurosaiga did use some runes on his blade in order to create a barrier around us. I was so pumped on adrenaline that time that I didn't bother memorizing the symbols he inscribed on it, a shame really, it would have been useful.

''So I will teach you the basics about them, but you will have to find books that contains runes on your own.''

 _Formalcraft_

''This one is a form of magecraft that many mages rely on. The principle characteristic of this branch is that it revolves around on mana instead of Od. It requires establishing contact with mysteries through the help of various forms of rituals, allowing for the user to perform a spell that requires large amounts of prana by utilizing the world's mana instead of ones Od. It's quite popular among mages who lack power due to weak or small number circuits, but it requires the user to possess vast knowledge about the subject as it's a delicate and meticulous process.''

Hmm… while she does say it isn't easy to use, it does sound like a good skill to have in case I'm running low on prana.

 _Bounded field creation_

''One the basic spells that a magus needs to master is the creation and deployment of a bounded field. Their use is very versatile as they can be for detection of intruders and protection of certain locations. Depending on the level of work and configuration put in one, they can also create certain defense mechanism to react to unwanted trespassers.''

Interesting… so it's like a magical alarm system going on when the wrong people step into the marked location. Wait… something seems amiss in what she said. ''Do we have a bounded field around the house?''

''We do in fact, and it immediately notifies us if a non-human or a magical related presence steps within its perimeters.''

This doesn't make sense… if we did have a bounded field, how did we end up like this? ''Then how come we didn't know about Neculai when he attacked us?''

The air around her seemed to grow cold, her eyes drifting to the side in shame. ''I did know Shirou…''

It took me a moment to realize that I indeed heard that right. ''… You did? Then why didn't you do anything?''

She didn't answer immediately, rubbing her arm until she let out an exhausted sigh. ''I panicked Shirou, in all the ten years that I lived in this house that was the one and only time I had to deal with an incoming enemy. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do at the moment.''

Well… I guess I can understand… the moment when one realizes dangers he often freezes in places as he doesn't know what to do… while others such as myself react on the spot without thinking and end up getting hurt.

''You see Shirou, the magecraft that I excel in isn't made for combat, and even if I knew how apply to battle the same way your mother does, I didn't have any wires on me at the moment. I could have quickly gone and take them from my room, but there was a problem that I couldn't ignore.''

''What was it?'' I carefully asked, just what could have been her reason of risking herself the way she did.

''It was you Shirou.'' She told me softly, her red orbs locked onto my amber ones. ''I could've left to get all of the materials I required to confront him, but that meant you would've been left unguarded. And by how fast he made his way in the house, by the time I would have gone to my room and take them out from their hidden compartment he would've killed you by the time I returned.''

It was me…

She took such a risk and ended up getting hurt all for my sake… I… I honestly don't know what to say… risking herself for my sake… it just didn't seem worth the pain she had to endure.

''All these years of peace and stagnation has made leave my guard down.'' Her eyes stared at the empty air, a sadness present in them. ''… It's because of me that you're now under devil influence.''

I didn't like seeing her like this... not one bit.

I place my hand on her shoulder, gently rubbing it as I looked her in the eyes. ''… Sella, we've had this talk before, I'm not blaming you for what happened.''

''I know, but it doesn't change what happened.'' She placed her hand over mine, holding it for a few seconds before separating them, the warmth and softness of her skin still lingering on my own. Surprisingly a resolute flare was present in her eyes. ''I will not allow something like that to occur ever again. As such, I started imitating the style of combat alchemy that your mother developed. Should another situation like that appear once again, I will be ready. I won't allow for any other member of this house to get hurt under my watch.''

This was it… the same strong willed Sella I grew up with it, the woman who you don't mess with. But I will have to correct her there, she isn't the only one who will protect this family. ''That may be right… but perhaps what happened to me for the best.''

She noticed what I unconsciously muttered and narrowed her eyes at me. ''How can you say that Shirou?''

''I'm not sure myself.'' I admit as I stared at the old shed roof. ''There are still many complicated things that I don't understand and frankly I sometimes feel like once I take a step forward I realize that I also took two backwards.''

My hand reached towards the roof, starring at it as it tightened in a fist. ''Yet, I feel like I'm slowly learning to understand people more than I did before. Maybe it is because I get to see the real side of you and the others, or maybe it is because of my master and the others in the peerage, who knows?'' I tiled my head and smiled at her, scratching the back of my head. ''It's an odd sensation… I can't really get my head around it, but it doesn't feel too bad.''

Sella just stared silently at me for a couple of seconds before covering her mouth with her hand and started chuckling. To be honest her reaction took me by surprise. ''What's so funny?''

She continued her giggle fest for about a minute before she finally stopped, whipping a tear from her right eye. ''Sorry, it's just amusing how you are having fun and don't notice it.''

Fun… is this really what I'm feeling about all the things that happened?... while I can't claim to find any amusement in the battles and supernatural related stuff per se, the time I spend with my master and the others in the peerage is rather unique and I do find it somewhat pleasant. Also, being able to spend time with this side of Sella feels more natural… and I quite like it.

I couldn't help but chuckle at this. ''… Guess it is.''

Sella nodded with a smile, her eyes locking on the old clock on the wall. ''I think this is enough for today. We will start going further in detail tomorrow.''

''Another productive day.'' I commented as I got up from my seat, getting rid of the dust on my rear. ''I think I will go and make dinner.''

I wasn't able to take even one step forward as I found myself looked in place by a vice-like grip. ''Oh no you don't mister, in case that you forgotten you are grounded.''

Of course… how could I forget?

Apparently the reason why Iri was angry at me after the whole Kurosaiga fiasco wasn't the fact that I got involved in a death battle and got myself hurt really bad, but instead by the fact that I didn't give any call at home to tell them that I'm not in any danger and that I will spend the night somewhere else. Because I didn't do that Iri and the others actually stood up all night and kept calling me over and over again to see if I'm still alive.

Blood related or not, Iri is still my mom so it's normal for her to be worried about me.

Needless to say when I got back home she wasn't going to brush it off and decided to punish me. As any parent would do she decided to hit me where it hurts the most and made a 'persona non grata' upon the sacred territory that is the kitchen.

None characteristically I snapped back at Sella. ''But it isn't fair! I can't go for a month without cooking anything!''

''If you have any complaints take them to your mother.'' Sella told me with a shrug, I tried making a comeback but failed to find the right reply. I sadly had shrunk in defeat. ''I thought so.''

Sella stared at me for a few moments before getting closer and started whispering to my ear. ''… I'll let you know when she is gone. You can use the kitchen then, but be sure to cover your tracks.''

I blinked a couple of times as I watched her walk away. Perhaps my relationship with Sella has indeed gotten better.

* * *

The rest of the day has gone on quite well, managed to cook something after what felt like an eternity of waiting, like a prisoner finally breathing the air of freedom after many years of incarceration. Liz and Illya were also happy to be eating my food again. I continued reading through the magecraft materials and theories that Sella wrote down for me, all while practicing my structural grasping on different objects to see its exact limits. Turns out that overusing it can give me the mother of all headaches.

It was getting late so I hit the sack after helping Illya with her homework.

I glanced over to the alarm clock next to my bed. It was already half past midnight and I still wasn't asleep. Somehow I wasn't feeling sleepy at all, and I didn't have a clue why. Eventually I got bored with starring at my ceiling and went out for a run around the house, which turned into one around the block… then into one around neighborhood… then into one around the town… and so on until it turned into one that led to the forests a few miles outside of the city.

Reinforced muscles take a while before they start to feel the burn afterall.

That being said, I ended up jogging more than I initially planned and ended up in this empty area. While I should probably be annoyed that I took such a long detour, I actually took it as an advantage. I was in the middle of nowhere, with no people around to see what I was doing, this meant only one thing.

''Trace on.''

How odd. A while after sorting things through, I noticed something rather interesting. When I demonstrated to Sella how I can use reinforcement, I did it without using Include. I found it very odd since it was a skill I received from the card, but after thinking about it for a while it wasn't something impossible. Since Sella explained that the skills I learned are actual magecraft spells that can be taught, there shouldn't be a reason why I can't use them without performing Include.

However, I noticed a difference between when I'm using in include state and when I'm using them by myself. When I use them without using include they seem to be more difficult to utilize and the end result is slightly inferior to the one I would get in I were in include state. Yet, if I use them while in include state the consumption of prana is much larger, in fact simply staying in include state consumes prana from me.

It is quite the dilemma I'm facing. It's either slightly inferior results while preserving my prana or stronger ones with the risk of burning through all of my reserves.

Normally one would choose the latter as many prefer overall efficiency, but the risk of suddenly running out of prana during battle is too high. The best solution would be to not using the include state and gauge the exact skill and abilities of the enemy, resolving to use include state as a power-up if the situation calls for it. At the moment there's not much I can do in this case, the only solution I can think of is practicing my skills over and over again to the point where they have the same efficiency like in include state, while maintaining a stable prana consumption.

Kanshou and Bakuya shined in the pale moon light as I stared at them. Another interesting thing I noticed is that my mentality has an important factor in maintaining their existence. The moment I perceive them as not being a real existence they will fade away. I let that thought go through my mind, on the double the swords vanished in thin air. Now it was time I focused on something that's been bugging me for a while.

Extending my hand forward I projected the object of my dilemma.

''A bow without arrows…'' I commented as I stared at the black bow that the card gave me the first time I used include.

I can tell just by looking at it that this piece of weaponry doesn't utilize normal arrows. The overall size, the density and durability of the material it's made of, the elasticity and unbelievable recoil of the string are simply too strong to fire regular arrows. It all made me wonder if this bow was somehow made to launch a different kind of arrows, larger and longer.

… Maybe I was looking it the wrong way. What if it isn't meant to use normal arrows?

This made me wonder… whenever I tried tapping into my powers there were never any bows or arrows that I saw.

 _Only swords._

''… Could this bow use swords are projectiles instead?'' Okay… If someone heard me say that out loud they would probably look at me as if I had two heads. Even I admit that it sounds ridiculous, but what it works?

''Trace on.''

I stared at my hand at the projected Yawaraki-Te. No matter how much I looked at it I couldn't see how it was possible to use it as a projectile. Its form, size and details were not meant for a bow. If I try to shot with it the way it is, it wouldn't matter how precise my aiming was, I can't pull the bow string properly due to the shape of the sword's handle, and even if I did manage to release it, the form of the blade will hinder the trajectory.

This wasn't a problem that only Yawaraki-Te suffered of, any sword in general would have some form of design part that hinders it from being used as a projectile. True, there may be weapons that can be thrown towards and enemy, like a spear or a throwing knife, even Kanshou and Bakuya can be used as boomerangs to strike the enemy, but that's all, they can only be thrown, not shot like an arrow.

In theory alone if I could make a sword into a projectile it could be very strong ability. Regular arrows can be very dangerous due to the speed they fly by, but also the fact that one can shot them from a distance. Another strong point is their piercing power, which can even penetrate armor if used correctly.

If I were to aim and shot a sword with the same precision of an arrow, they could instantly take down enemies with vast defensive skills as the strength and durability of a sword far exceeds that of an arrow. In fact, with the exception of the metallic part, the rest of the arrow is actually rather fragile.

But then comes the million dollar question... how do I even do that?

If only I could change its form a little, stretch it, make the handle more similar to bows end, and reshape the blade to a more circular form with a pointy edge. That sounds all nice and all, but is there even a way to modify a weapon like this?

Wait… Modify…

''That's it!'' I jumped from my seat and walked to the clear side of the forest, getting enough space to try out my little experiment.

Lets' see… If I concentrate the flow of prana inside of the sword, manipulate the materials, bend, flatten, straighten, sharpen, and stretch so that I can make the sword similar to a long arrow.

Good, it's working.

I concentrated the flow of prana towards the end, modifying the blade tip, giving it a conical shape. Slowly I let the new tip sharpen and extend until it was thin. Next was the handle, I let the prana flow and gather into one spot expanding at the end of the hilt, making it larger and much easier for my hand to grip on it while taking aim. A dry breath escaped my mouth as I lifted my new 'arrow' up and inspected it. Truly it wasn't something that can be called a sword anymore, but at the same time it can barely be called an arrow by its shape and overall appearance.

This took me about a minute make. Considering it was the very first time I did something like this I don't think it's bad at all. In time as I get better at controlling my prana and further master my craft I might be able to do it in a matter of seconds. For now, I should be careful if I try something like this in battle, during the time that in concentrating on changing a sword into an arrow I will be open for attacks.

However, before I go and make long term plans, there is still one thing I need to test out.

I summoned the black bow and took stance, a nostalgic feeling from the days I spent with the archery club rushing through me, like an old habit, I took aim at sky and pulled the bow string. If this were a regular bow the strain would have caused it to snap, but this one can take it. It was never meant to be used for normal arrows, it's made to handle much powerful rounds.

''Let's see how you fly.'' Just like a bullet, the arrow shot with an explosive power towards the midnight sky.

However, it seemed like the projectile was in the mood to surprise me.

Exploding right before it was fully released.

Well this experimenting certainly took a different turn on events from what I expected. Apparently the first arrow I created had too much prana inside it.

Normally when an object is injected with too much prana they overload and break on the spot, but for some reason it didn't break instantly but rather entered a so called fragile state. While it didn't break from sudden movements, it certainly didn't react well to the sudden force of the bow.

I was grateful, and I mean really grateful that I had my arm reinforced when the arrow suddenly detonated otherwise I'm pretty sure I would be busy right now with my cover story for my master and my mother to why most of the bones in my arm are broken.

Still, in piece as it might be, my arm still hurts like hell.

All that aside I couldn't just stop when I felt like I was making a breakthrough so I tried creating a new arrow… this time taking more proper precautions... After another three failures I managed to figure out what the problem was. The amount of prana I was pouring in it was too big so I had to keep a steady track of every bit of energy that circulated from my circuits to the weapon.

This time I kept careful eye on each of my movements, not risking any more explosions. I placed the arrow in the bow, aiming for the endless night sky, at the lone cloud that was covering the moon.

Taking a deep breath, I let go.

One moment I was staring at a cloud in the sky, the next moment a large hole was formed in the cloud from the force generated by the piercing force of the arrow.

 _Gone._

It happened so fast I couldn't keep track of it. All that is left is a train of clouds from where it passed.

 _Not enough._

I did the same, projecting another sword and repeating the modifying process. Another target in my sight, this time I took a ground one to see its exact destructive capabilities. There were some trees nearby so I chose a large tree as my target. Once again I took aim, a lone breath escaping my lips as I let my arrow fly. Again, it was too fast for me to keep track.

I reinforced my eyes and took notice of the devastation it left in its path. It forced its way through five trees, stopping only when it hit a stone cliff, but not after piercing its way half through.

I was at loss of words. The sheer amount of power one of my arrows has is simply breathtaking, but it also raises some problems.

The overall power they generate can become a danger for any nearby allies. Should I use them in battle while there are allies or innocents nearby I could end hurting them in the process if they are too close to my target. If I ever use them in battle, the best solution would be to use them for a distance when the enemy is alone.

This way of using the bow still needs tinkering. Yet, a single though crossed my mind as I kept looking at the destruction made by my arrow.

''Can't wait to show this to Sella.''

Guess my time in the archery team wasn't a waste of time after all.

 _Sniff_

The muscles in my body went rigid and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight as a foul smell invaded my nose. This scent wasn't just a smell that lingered in the air, no, it felt like something that had an actual shape and form, completely different from something everyone can sense with their nose.

It felt familiar for some reason, something fleshy that went rotten, making me think about spiders for some reasons. Somehow I felt like I knew something similar to it, reminding me of the members of our peerage, but the weirdest part was that it strongly reminded me of Kurosaiga.

It was getting stronger by the second, thicker and intense as if I was getting closer to the source. No… it wasn't me getting closer to the source… the source was getting closer to me. By instinct, I turned around and covered my vitals with the bow, just in time to block a black tendril that was about to penetrate my back. Although I managed to block the surprise attack the force behind it was enough to send me rolling a few meters.

I quickly reinforced my body and got back on my feet, just in time to see the face of my assailant.

A few meters in front of me, crawling around the trunk of an old tree was a woman... or at least what I though was a woman.

The upper half of the body had the appearance of a well-endowed woman in her late twenties, chin length black hair and what appeared to be three sets of pupil less eyes, only purple sclera filling in her orbs. Her mouth was morphed into a large predatory grin, revealing an impossible number of long sharp teeth. The thing that really put me on the edge was her lower half, which was that of a spider, and if the color and mark on the back was any indication it appeared to be that of a black widow.

For a moment I was considering what kind of creatures was standing in front of me, but I connected the dots in my mind the moment I recalled that this creature had the same sent as Kurosaiga. There was only one answer.

 _Stray devil._

''My, my.'' A large grin formed on stray's face, voice sweet as honey but dangerous as venom. ''I was wondering who was making such a ruckus out here in my forest, and it was young man.''

The tone of her voice made shivers run down my spine. While may sound sweet and sultry to a third party I could feel a beastly hunger in it, telling me that this creature isn't here for a small chat.

The grip on my bow tightened.

A predator just chose its new pray.

I didn't respond to her and carefully watcher her every move as she slowly squirmed around the tree, her spider half doing all the work while her human half was keeping all six eyes on me. I raised my empty hand to the side and prepared to project a copy of Kanshou. That was my initial plan, yet I stopped as a burning pain surged through my arm and cut off my projecting.

A quick glance to my arm gave an answer, some kind of thread or silk was covering it, causing me unbelievable pain each passing second. I yanked the tip of the bow underneath it and forcefully ripped it off. I checked the area where it was previously tied around, the skin was red and covered in blisters, still throbbing and sizzling violently even though I got rid of the source.

Now that I took a better look at them, I realized that those weren't just threads, those were spider webs. Not only that, but they were also coated in some kind of poison or acid. There was only one explanation.

I snapped back to the predator that tried to ensnare me, only to find that she was gone. I scanned the area with her nowhere to be found. It was because of a single leaf that fell in front of me that I realized where she was. I looked above and saw he hang in the air by the threads tied around the trees.

This is bad… I'm in her territory and she has the home field advantage here.

I have to get away in a more open area.

She took notice that I was about to do something and leaped towards a tree trunk, using it as footing to leap towards me. One moment she was on the tree, the next moment she was right in front of me. My blood ran cold as I stared her in the eyes. It wasn't running speed that she covered such a distance in less than a second, it was leaping strength. With six legs for her to use and the number of tree surrounding us I was a territorial disadvantage. Not only that, but she did mention that this was her forest so she must know the area very well.

Although I was ready for battle at any moment, she on the other hand seemed rather amused by my reactions, her eyes scanning me from head to toe, smiling almost gently towards me but I could see the malice and hunger in her purple orbs.

''Oh my, aren't you a handsome one.'' Her smile spread all the way to her ears, quite literally. The corner of her mouth seemed to split her cheeks apart until it reached her ears, revealing a frightening number of sharp teeth, the stench of decay lingered in her mouth, a sadistic disfigured smile beaming towards me. ''Makes me want to suck you dry real bad!''

My instincts instantly kicked in and I jumped backwards using my bow as a makeshift shield just in time to block her hand strike. Sparks flew the moment her fingers clashed against the black metal of my bow. I didn't notice it before because she was further away on a tree and the darkness of night, but now that she was closer I took a better look at her arms. What I thought was long gloves of some kind turned out to be a type of black exoskeleton covering her arms, acting as both a natural armor but also as a weapon as her fingers were sharp and edgy like talons.

''So you want to play?'' her voice was mixture of childish glee and sadism as she licked her black talon. ''This makes me all the more excited.''

If her lower half is any indication she definitely has the physical and mental traits of a literal spider. She must have been some kind of arachnid creatures before becoming a devil and now she's a stray. If I remember correctly the times I studied spiders in my biology class, I think there was a certain thing they did with their pray. The stray leaped towards me, mouth opened and aimed towards my neck. I instantly jumped towards a nearby tree, reinforcing my legs and using it to jump backwards in the air, carefully landing on a large tree branch.

Oh right… Now I remember. They use webs to capture their pray, and when they are tied up nice and tight so they can't move away, the spider then starts drinking their body fluids until nothing remains except a dry husk.

Yep, no way I'm ending up as someone's meal.

I dispersed my bow and projected Kanshou and Bakuya, trying to ignore the pain on my right arm as I prepared to face the stray. Peeking behind the tree I searched for it, spotting her sitting on top of her webs in the air. I pulled my arms back and threw my weapons at her, the target locked on her neck.

She was looking around the area, her eyes widening as she heard the sound of the two swords cutting through the air. She was surprised judging by her reaction, yrt not scared or panicked. The swords were about to reach her but she didn't make any attempt to block or dodge, instead she raised her hand and made a few gestures with her fingers.

They stopped.

The twin swords were sitting in place right in front of her, mere inches from her skin. It didn't make sense, something must have happened. I reinforced my eyes and got a better look at them, gritting my teeth as I understood what just happened. The threads of her webs were tied tightly around the handles, keeping them in place.

Damn… she isn't stupid. By tying the threads around the handles she managed stop them, should she had tried to tied them around the blades of the swords they would have cut through them and reached her.

Her six eyes narrowed towards me, an annoyed scowl present on her face. ''Ugh, attacking from back there... Are you a man or not!?''

She made a gesture with her hand and the threads threw the swords back at. Not wasting any time I projected another pair and used them to deflect the incoming pair. Sparks flew when the swords made contact, deflecting and stabbing themselves in some nearby trees.

I didn't have time to relax and slashed forward with a new pair, just in time to cut the surprise attack made of webs.

Dammit, these webs aren't the kind you find in dusty only places or somewhere in the garden. Not only are they tough like iron, their also coated in some kind of poison or acid that burns through my skin. If I wasn't reinforcing my flesh it would have reached my bones by now.

My eyes narrowed at my opponent, her amused chuckle staring to get under my skin. ''A man that struggles, just my favorite type.''

I can feel her intent all over my skin, she is dead serious about everything she said. I don't know what she did or how she ended up a stray but it's clear as night and day that she isn't the same breed of stray as Kurosaiga who still retained most of his mentality. As the two of us fought I could tell that he wasn't serious truly serious about killing me, but this isn't the same case. She is a real stray devil, the kind that turned into a monster that you can't hope to reason.

I have to stop her, otherwise she may kill innocents.

Running was the only solution that came to my mind. Not running from her, just from this area since her webs are a bit troubling. I jumped down from the tree and began running in zigzag. Using the trees as shield for any back strike. Taking notice of the forest exist I stepped up my reinforcement to increase my speed, I could almost see the open fields… but next thing I saw was ground.

A pained growl escaped my mouth as held my head, throbbing pain running throw it from the fall I suffered. This didn't make any sense, I was sure that I avoided the roots of the trees when I passed by them, just how did I fell down-

My answer came as I felt the burning pain run through my leg. Threads were tied around it, dissolving through my clothes and skin. I projected a copy of Bakuya and cut them off, snarling as the pain kept going on even though I got rid of the webs. I glanced upwards and saw her looking down on me, arms wrapped her waist, a blissful smile beaming on her face. ''Nothing beats hearing a kid scream! It gives me tingles... C'mon, cry some more for me!''

Her fingers started dancing, dozens of threads rushing towards me. I rolled down on the ground like a rug, continuing until I hit a tree trunk. Ignoring the rough impact I got up only spin behind the trunk to avoid the incoming webs. I projected a new pair of swords, turning around and cutting webs, the dance of blades began.

It was relentless, not even one moment to relax and catch my breath. One thread was cut, another three followed in its track. I had to make my way out of here before I ran out of stamina, or in the worst case, ran out of prana. I threw my blades forward, the two acting like shredders towards the webs. After leaping forward I tried running again… only to find unable to move.

 _Shit._

Threads were tied around my arms and legs… damn I walked right into a web trap. I tried ripping them apart with my reinforced body, but there were far too many. Even if I could easily get rid of a few dozen without any problem, a few hundred of them was a different story, quantity over quality it seems. I projected a new set of the twin blades but couldn't move my wrists at all to cut the threads.

My struggling stopped when that revolting smell was right behind me.

''Why must you be so hasty?'' her sultry voice made my hair stand, her cold shell clad fingers running down against my face… slowly slicing through my skin, letting the blood flow on her talons. I tried to break free but failed, my movements making the predator on my back chuckle. ''Why not put that energy of yours to a more… _pleasant_ activity?''

Her hand began making her way under my shirt, her cold tongue licking the blood off my face. In my desperate attempt to break free I kept struggling, my wrists bleeding as the threats kept cutting and burning in my flesh. I couldn't move my body… so I had to improvise.

Using the strength that I could muster in my fingers I threw Bakuya upwards. Shoving my face forward I grabbed it with my teeth and rotated my head to its limits. Not enough to cut her head, but enough to give her a deep cut.

''Gahh!'' she screamed in pain, letting go of me to grab her bleeding side.

This gave me a chance to escape as the threads around me loosened. I quickly cut them and put some distance between us. The stray on the other hand was sitting silently in place, her arms trembling violently as she starred at the blood on them. Her head tiled mechanically to the side, eyes wide and gaping, and a shell shocked expression present on her bloodstained face. ''M-My face… my beautiful face… you ruined it! You bastard!''

Her scream could be heard throughout the forest, blood lust and demonic energy surging from her body as it started changing. Her skin started to get covered in black fur, her mouth glowing larger and splitting its cheeks, two large pincers erupting from it, talons growing longer and sharper.

A beastly roar was heard as she leaped towards me. I barely managed to dodge to her monstrous mouth and instead it buried itself in the tree that was behind me. She ripped the chunk of the tree and crushed it in her mouth, spitting it to the side. I project two pairs of the twin blades and threw them at her as a distraction, this time she didn't use her threads and instead used her spider legs to kick them aside. Throwing a new pair at her, I used this opportunity and jumped my way up on the tree branches, stopping at the base of a large oak tree.

I took this few seconds to catch my breath, ignoring the pain of my wounds and started considering my options. Sweat was running all over me as I was burning up on the inside. The heat from my circuits was all present in me overshadowing the pain I was feeling from the web burns.

Dammit… I'm running low of prana.

I already consumed quite the amount of it while trying to perfect the arrows for my bow, which combined with the reinforcement and the blades that I projected up until now has left with barely enough to project one or two weapons.

My reinforcement will run out as well... I'm quite in a tight spot.

Although she is in that beast like form there's no guarantee she will keep fighting reckless so I need to consider all possible scenarios. Kanshou and Bakuya won't help, she keeps catching them with her threads and I can't get close to her without getting caught in the thread myself. I need to strike her from the distance, something either too fast for her to catch or strong enough to decimate through them all the way to her.

I had only one option.

Arm extended to the side, I called forth the black bow. I had to use my arrow sword, it was the only chance I had. But I had a problem… I didn't have enough prana. I can project it, but I don't have enough prana to change its form into an arrow. There has to be a way to draw more prana from my circuits. I have a basic control over my circuits, but there's still a number of output that I'm not fully using. I need to think of a way to draw more power… there has to be.

 _Wait…_

What was it that Sella told me about words and mages?

Meaning… to a magus the words he chants when he uses an incantation have a deep meaning, the more personal importance those words have to a person the stronger the self-hypnosis is and a magus can bring out a better control of their circuits. If I could come up with an incantation that represents me I should gain enough control of my circuits to project one last blade and turn it in an arrow.

Well... Easier said than done.

It can't be something random, it must be something that represents me at both a physical and spiritual level, something that defies me and only me alone.

The scent of the stray was slowly getting more and more closer to me, I was running out of time, I had to come up with a stronger incantation and I had to do it now. I had to examine myself to my core in order to find something that would make gain a better control.

For a moment my heart slowed down from the sudden realization that hit me.

My core… my origin… a _Sword_.

Yes… it was there all along… I am a living incarnation of a sword. If I want to take advantage of that status I have to think of myself as nothing else but a sword.

 _A body, mind and soul of true steel._

My hand was stretched forward, the heat of the circuits ragging once again in my body, sweat running down my face as I opened my mouth and let my mind become a sword. Words coming out by themselves.

'' **I am… the bone of my sword.''**

The new spark further ignited the burning sensation, increasing twenty fold as I was going beyond my limits, all twenty-seven of my circuits flaring. My fingers were trembling as hard as they were struggling to grip on the handle of the sword. Once again I climbed over the imaginary wall and fought the pain in me as I poured all my remaining prana in the sword, morphing it into an arrow.

The tingling in my nose informed me that the predator was close… right above me, slowly crawling down on the tree trunk.

 _It's now or never._

I used my leg as a pivot and turned around to face her, glaring the predator in the eyes. She seemed surprised for a moment, probably by the strange sword that was now in my hand or by the fact that I managed to notice her presence… or maybe both?

She didn't seem to share the amount of patience that I had to try and contemplate what the new weapon that I had could do and simply leaped down towards me, legs sharp and ready to impale me on the spot. In all honesty I didn't blame her, the weapon in my hand looked like failed attempt of a sword or some kind of thin lance or spear. It didn't occur to her to draw the connection between it and the bow I had in my other hand.

That was her mistake.

I clenched my teeth and fought against all the throbbing pain that took place each time that I made the most minuscule of moves and took position. Arrow in place, string pulled to the limit, eyes locked on the targets head. The very last remains of my prana used to reinforce my body for one single second.

'' **Broken phantasm.** '' I let go of the sting, the arrow rushed to the target.

There was a moment of confusion present on the strays face as the sword was released. The said confusion instantly morphed into pure, unadulterated fear and despair as she understood what was going it to happen shortly.

''… Oh… FUUUC-!'' she didn't get to finish the sentence.

The arrow was so fast that she probably didn't even feel when it penetrated through her head and destroyed a large portion of it in its path towards the sky. I took a few steps backwards to avoid the now dead body from falling on top of me. The ground cracked and broke on the impact, the body contorting and shaking violently for about a minute before it finally went silent, legs curled up upwards like a real dead spider. A strained sigh escaped my mouth as my legs gave up on me, landing on my butt. My body was sore and aching as I stared at the moonlight sky.

Is this for real now?

I originally went for an enthusiastic walk through the woods and ended up fighting some demonic abomination.

Me and my _E-rank_ luck.

Heavy breaths followed after the sigh as I let my heart rate go back to regular parameters. Although this whole spider in heat/blood-lust problem caused me quite a number of burns and lacerations, it also bore some interesting results concerning my projecting.

The sword arrows that I dubbed 'Broken Phantasm' is certainly a big leap in my battle repertoire. Before I was limited to close quarter combat, and perhaps in the mid zone if I properly threw my twin falchions at my enemy, but that was it. Now I can act both as vanguard and support. I may lack the skill and ability to use magical blasts like Kusaka and Hanakai, but now I can easily join them acting as support. In fact I think that while it may lack some magical aspects compared to regular magical blasts, it's far faster and the piercing power makes them pale in comparison, and if I factor in my aiming precision I may just become the team sniper.

Yet... I still think that there's more to it. Why did I call it 'Broken Phantasm' in the first place?

For one thing it obviously isn't broken, what could I do with a broken weapon? And how would I even break it, I mean the only way that could happen would he if I overloaded it-

… With prana… and turned it into a literal bomb… just like what I did during the fight with Kurosaiga.

Is that why it the first arrows that I tested out ended up the way they did? I've been subconsciously turning them into broken phantasms? That could explain some things, but it also raises new questions. Can I even use a broken phantasm as an arrow without it exploding when I shot it?

There has to be a way… I need to think this through.

There seemed to be a time frame to how long it can stay stable in the broken form, and any form of sudden movement cuts through that time even further. If I manage to find a way to use it in its broke form, the arrow will explode on contact with the target, causing even more damage that it would if were to use it without overloading it with prana. I need to find a way to use the arrow without causing it to explode before it hit the target.

Should I try and move quickly?... No that wouldn't work.

What if I move at a snail pace?... Nah, by the time I shot it the target would be already home watching the news.

Overload it with prana just before letting go?... Too risky, if I'm off with the amount it may explode in my face.

No, no, no! Calm down and think things properly! I have to make up for time in a way that doesn't affect my overall shooting time. If only I could modify and shot at the same time.

 _Wait…_

Not at the same time, but while I am aiming.

That's it! Instead of modifying the sword, placing it in the bow and shooting it, I have to place it in the bow as it normally is and modify it while taking aim, letting it morph into an arrow as I pull it against the string. If I do that I will spare time and avoid any unnecessary movements that can hinder delicate of the arrow.

Guess I'll be practicing firing 'Broken Phantasms' for a while.

For a moment something felt off about that little thought. Ever since I came up with the term 'broken phantasm' it seemed to keep nagging me for a reason… yet I can't seem to figure it out. During my lessons with Sella there wasn't anything remotely close to the concept of a 'broken phantasm'. The only thing that was remotely similar in any was-

My eyes went wide as realization hit me like a hammer. I raised my hand and made a fist, which I promptly used to hit myself in the face. How can I be so God damn ignorant at times like these?!

… Noble phantasms.

What I've been projecting aren't normal weapons, they are noble phantasms. This explains why they don't instantly break apart like any other object when I overload them with prana, it's due to their mystic properties that they are able to maintain form for a little while when overloaded with prana. Well Sella will sure have a field day when I tell her that I can project noble phantasms. She will either think I'm trying to make fun of her or that I hit my head really hard.

Who could blame her when you consider what noble phantasms are.

If a heroic spirit is the spirit of a hero who has achieved great fame due to his legend and achievements, a noble phantasm is a weapon, a special ability or skill that the said heroic spirit possessed during his life, something of deep connection to the hero have just as much fame and renown as the hero itself, symbols that got recorded together with the legend of its wielders.

The most obvious example of a noble phantasm that comes to my mind would probably be King Arthur's Excalibur.

However there are some exceptions to this rule. Kanshou and Bakuya are such an example, they're not noble phantasms that were wielded by any hero in myth or history, but rather they reached this status by their own story, that of weapons forged just for the sake of forging, never to be wielded in battle and yet their creation brought pain and death to its creators.

Comparing a weapon noble phantasm to a normal weapon would be insulting. Everything about the noble phantasm is superior, the forging process, the materials, the magical enchantments and even the people who wielded them. No wonder they don't instantly shatter when I overload them with prana. Their spiritual qualities allows them to keep form even if they should by all means just break apart. Now that I know what the weapons that I keep projecting really are I will need to be careful with them. If word gets out that I can somehow replicate noble phantasms it will get me a lot of unwanted attention.

But I guess that's something for tomorrow.

I got up slowly and cracked my neck, my hand going for my phone. I tapped my foot as I waited for the person I dialed to answer. ''Evening master.''

''[Oh my Maou! It's three in the morning! What do you want, Shirou?!]'' If the rather uncharacteristic lash out was any indication, she was probably enjoying the pleasant feeling of her warm bed before I went and woke her up so late.

I took a small glance to the mutilated corpse of the stray, particularly the pieces of bone, blood and brain scattered all over the ground. Sighing was the only thing I could do as I never got to learn any spell that could help me in this kind of situation. ''… I might need help with some cleaning. ''

* * *

 **Omake: Halloween Special**

''Is this really necessary Meguri?'' I sighed tiredly as I kept resisting the tingling sensation of the make-up brush she was using all over my face.

''Of course it is! Halloween is only once a year so it's fine to cut loose and get all suited up for the night. Now sit still so I can finish your make-up.''

Although I found her excitement somewhat pleasant it didn't spare me of the two hours I have spent in the chair so that she can turn me into, and I quote 'the most badass swordsman'. ''Can't you use some devil magic to change how I look?''

''Nope! It's more fun this way!'' she chirped happy at me.

''If you say so…'' I sighed and stretched my legs a little, I honestly have no idea how movie actors can deal with kind of thing.

''There we're done!'' She beamed cheerfully as she took turned the chair around for me to get up. ''Time for everyone to say hi to the world's most badass swordsman.''

When I got up I stretched myself first and then took a look in the mirror.

I honestly was a bit shocked how much some make up and the right clothes can change how one looks. Apparently in the two hours that I spent on the chair Meguri went all out and dyed my hair green, drew a scar over my left eye and one over my chest, and she also put three golden earrings on my left ear

The clothes she made me wear are bit different from what I'm used to wear, but they don't feel too bad. They consist of a long, open dark-green coat closed on my waist that is held by a red sash, in which three katana's are tucked into, a black bandanna is tied around my left forearm, and a green haramaki underneath the coat.

''It looks… interesting.'' Was pretty much what I could say, I didn't particularly like it, but I also didn't hate it. I overall had the image of a samurai of some kind, who knows, while I do look familiar I can't remember from where, so I pretty much didn't have any idea who I was dressed as.

''Oh come on! Be more excited! Me and the girls had to do a lot of begging to make Kaichou throw a Halloween party, the least you can do is try and be more fire up.''

How could I forget… I was basically sitting at home on the couch watching a new episode of Hell's Kitchen and out of nowhere Meguri, Hanakai and Kusaka all teleported in my house and pretty much abducted me without telling me what's going on.

It didn't help that they told me to strip the first thing after we got here... that was beyond awkward.

It was after a couple minutes of silence after they realized what they just asked me to do that Kusaka explained everything to me. Apparently they managed to convince our master at the last minute to hold a Halloween party and they were so busy preparing everything that they forgot to tell me about it and that I need a costume. So they had to hurry up and get me ready.

It would have much more simple to just give me a call, but I digress.

I turned around a looked at Meguri, getting another look at her so called costume. She changed her hair from her usual twin bushy tails to a single thick pony tail and drew a cross shaped scar on her right cheek. Her clothes were somewhat traditional, a simple male burgundy kimono and a white hakama tied around her waist with a white sash. Hanging in the said sash was a simple katana.

It seemed simple, but it also seemed appropriate for some reason, I wasn't sure why.

''You guys ready yet?!'' Yura… or at least who I think its Yura, barged in the room, sporting her very own costume.

Her hair color and face was overall the same, except her hair seemed a bit more spiky than usual. What really got me looking at her were the exaggerated big, orange triangular sunglasses that covered her eyes. I probably wouldn't have minded it if not for the fact that they seem to be able to sit on her face despite the fact that they lack any temples.

The rest of her costume somehow seemed to inspire a sense of masculinity in me even though they were currently being worn by a girl. Long, dark-brown pants with two red rings on the bottom, a double-grommet belt tied around his waist, a traditional Japanese sarashi, sandals, and a red and orange cape with the motif of a flaming skull on the back. Curiously the skull seemed to wear the same glasses.

Her chest was tied with a white sash, which I thanked... whoever we devils thank, for being there since most of her upper torso was bare to show tattoos along both of his arms which extend to her shoulders and her upper back.

She was carrying a nodachi katana in her right hand, which made me wonder if the costume theme for the party was swords. ''How long are you going to keep us waiting? JUST WHO-''

''Yeah, yeah, everyone knows who the hell you are.'' Meguri waved her hand as she passed by her. ''Come on, we don't want to be late.''

I simply passed by Yura in silence, hearing her pout sadly as I did. ''My one liner….''

My hand ran through my hair, something tells me it was gonna be a long night.

When we arrived downstairs I took a moment and admired the decoration in the living room. Apparently it was decided that the party will be held at our master's home. Which I honestly felt grateful for, something in the back of my head was nagging me that if we held it at my house it would have ended in a disaster of epic proportions. I can only shake in fear when thinking about what kind of costumes Iri would have made the others wear.

All that aside, I liked how they decorated the room. Many carved pumpkins with candles were placed in various parts of the room, small cut-outs with ghosts, vampires, werewolf's and zombies were hanged on the ceiling, gently waving back and forth, the tables were covered in vast variety of sweets and desserts. Very 'Halloween' so to say.

''Hey guys! What took you so long to get here?'' a voice from behind me got my attention, I instantly recognized it.

''Sorry, it a while to get ready HanaKAI!?'' I almost screamed my lungs out the moment I turned around and saw just what kind of costume the white haired bishop of the team was wearing.

I honestly had no idea what to name what she was wearing. It was a skin tight full body black leather suit that left nothing to the imagination, covering the entirety of her body with the exception of her mouth area, the part from left should to her elbow, and the area starting from her left ankle all the way up to her thigh. There were chains wrapped around her right arm that seemed to be attached to her right thigh, a pair of tatter lather wings hanging on her back, and multiple patches all over her body. Curiously her left arm had a somewhat deformed shape, much longer than its left counterpart, the hand itself several times larger, equipped with metal cuffs and long sharp red claws.

The leather mask appeared to have some kind of red lenses built in it, giving her eyes an evil appearance. Her normally wavy hair was straightened and was flowing on her back through the back of the mask. I couldn't help but notice a white skull right on her right breast.

If I were to describe it simpler, its overall image gave the impression of some kind of evil undead dominatrix.

''Like what you see?'' she purred at me as an almost evil smile took her face, striking a pose that further accentuated her curves which were barely hidden away by the skin like suit she was wearing.

I turned around in silence… I couldn't look at her… not like this. My mind just couldn't process it… it didn't help that my teenage hormones were on standby and could hit any moment if I keep looking at such a display of clothing that wouldn't be out of place at a sex shop.

''I think I need to start appreciating the wonders of leather.'' I glanced to the source of the remark, and it appeared to be Saji.

The costume he wore consisted of what appeared to be an open lab coat that revealed his shirtless chest, a majority of his abdominal and chest area were colored in a greyish blue, resembling the skin tone of a deceased person. The pants he wore were simple black ones, the interesting parts were the blue metallic plates that were attached to his thighs.

Around his neck he wore a black choker that would get a person's attention and make them ignore the purple colored lips and the very accentuated dark circles under his eyes that made you think he hasn't seen a bed in months. In his right hand he carried an old looking halberd, easily topping over him while on his left arm there are chains wrapped that held a skeleton tied to it.

If someone would met Saji dressed like this in the middle of the night they would without a doubt ran away believing he is some kind of mad serial killer... or at least that would have been the case if not the blood dripping out of his nose and the perverted smile on his face.

''Who would have thought you were hiding a body like that under your uniform Hanakai.'' He commented with a nod as he checked Hanakai's from head to toe.

The white haired bishop on the other hand didn't appear to enjoy it that much, the deformed arm stretched forwards and ball of dark energy forming at the palm of her hand ''Saji you have five seconds to stop grinning at me like a dog in heat before I make those black marks under your eyes the real deal.''

The perverted grin vanished in thin air, and his hands shot up in a defensive position, Hanaki noticing that he stopped ogling her and dispersed her magic. ''Tsk, when Emiya was looking you didn't seem to mind.''

The lenses in her mask seemed to glow maliciously the moment she heard Saji's comment. ''What was that?!''

I instinctively took a step backwards, the costume she was wearing was somehow making her look very scary if she was angry. I was so taken aback that I failed to notice the person that got behind Hanakai and placed a hand over her shoulder. ''Calm down Momo, you should have expected this when you chose that costume.''

She seemed to calm down and turn around, letting out a tired sigh as she stared at the new person to arrive. ''Easy for you to say Reya, although we are both wearing skin tight leather your costume is still concealing.''

I took a moment and analyzed the costume of our second bishop. Just as Hanakai remarked, her costume was also within the tight leather department white, a form-fitting black bodysuit with cut-outs on its back and the shoulders. The design of it was a masculine one, meant to emphasize the abdomen and chest muscles, but in her case it was clearly emphasizing her chest more than it should. Her usually brown braided hair was now covered by a short haired white wig, while her nails were all painted black. However the most striking part of her costume was the mask she was wearing, resembling a leather gimp mask with an eye patch covering her right eye. It bears a lip-less mouth with large, gnashing teeth, much like a restrained asylum monster. Her uncovered eye was different from her usual brown ones, this one had a blood red iris, surrounded by pitch black sclera.

''You're talking like I was the one who picked the costume you're wearing.'' Kusaka remarked to her fellow bishop, her voice sounding deeper due to the mask.

Hanakai clicked her teeth and turned around. ''Well excuse me if I didn't have enough time to get a costume on Halloween night. It's kind of hard to get one at the last minute, and this was all i could find that was my size, anything else was rather to small or too big.''

''Now you see why I told you that you should get a costume ahead of time, it's best to be prepared.'' She elaborated with a smile... or at least what I think was a smile, the only indicator was the way her eye softened considering that the rest of her face was masked.

''Yeah, yeah, keep rubbing it in.'' Hanakai crossed her arms at her, checking her costume more carefully. ''Wait, I think I saw that costume before... didn't someone from that manga you been recently really into wear the same costume?''

Her question seemed to bring a level of excitement in the normally braided bishop. ''Yep, I decided to dress as the main character of my favorite manga.''

Yura, who munching down on some candy apples stepped in with a rather panicked face, pieces of the apple were stuck to the said face. ''Hold on! Reya you're reading stuff like that?!'' she asked with a half full mouth.

She tilted her slightly to the side, normally that would have been a cute reaction, but her mask was adding a layer of dread to it. ''Yes?''

Yura took a second and swallowed the remaining food in her mouth, whipping her mouth with her arm. ''No offence girl but I once picked a volume of the manga from a book store and shuffle through the pages out of curiosity, there was some stuff in it that give me the chills and I can't really imagine you liking stuff like that.''

Kusaka took her pointer fingers and pressed each other while fidgeting awkwardly. ''I had to admit that the blood, violence and gore moments aren't something I enjoy much, but I love how the author explores the psychological aspect of his characters, something that many authors don't really do these days. Also the trauma, suffering and hardships that the characters go through help them develop as people, making you look back at how they were when they were first introduced and how they are now. ''

Yura took a moment and pondered at Kusaka reply, crossing her arms under her chest and giving a firm nod. ''When you put it like that it kinda makes one to try and give it read. Come to think about it I think it recently got a second anime season.''

''No, it didn't.'' She stated firmly, her voice dead serious.

Yura tilted her head confused. ''You sure, I'm sure I saw some commercial with the second-''

''I said it didn't.'' Kusaka repeated herself, I wasn't sure if it was because of the mask, but for some reason her voice sounded a bit scary when she said that. ''I could accept the anime studios dropping certain plot points and details of the story, but the moment they decided to do an anime original with the second season, it stopped existing for me.''

Huh... who would've have thought that the usually sweet and warm Kusaka can exude such a cold and scary aura around her. It seemed that I wasn't the only one who felt it, Yura in particular seemed a bit affected by it as her skin went slightly pale. ''... Noted.''

''Wow... who would've thought Kusaka-senpai can be scary like that.'' a new person stepped in, gathering my attention which I honestly was thankful for, I really didn't have a clue to how to deal with this situation.

''I agree.'' I nodded as I glanced to my left side, noticing her sitting against the wall. She was wearing a long-sleeved, high-collared white blouse with maroon edges, black finger-less gloves, low-heeled sandals and a black forehead protector with a metal plate that sported a mark reminiscent to a leaf. She wears maroon, puffy hakama-styled pants with the exposed parts covered in bandages. A very large scroll was tied behind her back. Her usual twin-tailed hair was now styled in a pair of Chinese-style buns. ''Oh, Nimura done with your costume?''

''Pretty much.'' She nodded as she walked towards us.

The moment Kusaka noticed her, she got near her and brought her face very close to Nimura's face, close enough for the only feminine pawn of the group to admire the pearly white teeth of Kusaka's mask. ''How do I look, am I scary enough?''

She clearly was a bit spooked out by the fiendish looking mask regardless of how cute and innocent Kusaka's voice was. ''...Yeah sure.''

Although her reaction didn't appear so positive Kusaka seemed to find it otherwise and pulled the tiny pawn into a hug and started rubbing her face against hers. ''Oh you're so cute i could just eat you up.''

''I think you really shouldn't say that something like while dressed like that.'' she commented with a dry smile, awkwardness present on her face. Her answer seemed to register too well with Kusaka as she began pouting, a single puppy dog eye present through her mask... I don't know if one should find this image cute or something extremely creepy. Nimura noticed the reaction her answer caused and tried to repair that damage she done. ''All that aside you look great Kusaka-senpai.''

The innocent smile of Nimura was all that was needed to make revert back to her usually cheery self. ''You also look very cute too Ruruko.''

She sighed tired and she got out of the hug and checked her costume. ''I was a bit reluctant to wear this actually. I'm rather small so I didn't think it's a good choice.''

Kusaka took her hand gently patted her on the head. ''Don't worry about small details like matching the character you're dressed as, it's all about having fun.''

Her affection seemed to do the trick, a bright smile beaming on Nimura's face. ''Yes!''

''It's nice to see them get along isn't it?''

''Shinra-senpai…'' I turned around as I recognized her voice, getting a full view of her costume. She was wearing a dark sleeveless mini dress with a white collar and a red tie, tied around her waist was a red belt that has a red side skirt cover. She was also wears red gauntlets and black gloves that reach to her elbows. Curiously she was also carrying a katana, one with a deep red handle and scabbard. ''Yeah it is.''

We both we're silent and watched as the group started to dig in the buffet of Halloween treats. I opened my mouth to speak but closed it back as I didn't know what to say, Personally I didn't really know what to talk with Shinra-senpai since out of all the people of the groups, she is the one i know the least.

As I was nagging my brain trying to think of anything interesting to talk about I glanced over to her only to find her staring at me. She immediately moved her head, trying to act like I didn't caught her staring at me. The silence and awkwardness between us was now even heavier than before. It wasn't until I heard a heavy sigh from her that I turned my head back to her. ''What do you think of my costume?''

I took a moment and checked her from head to toe, my eyes mostly focusing on the weapon in her hand. ''It's nice… though I was expecting a naginata rather than a katana.''

She glanced at it, giving it a dry stare as she tucked it under her belt. ''Comes with the costume, plus its nice when you go against expectations.''

I hummed as I rested my back against the wall. ''Maybe.''

''You say that and yet you are dressed in a swordsman yourself.'' she commented with a sly smile, to which I couldn't but stare at my clothes and agree with her.

A small snort escaped my lips. ''Guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite sometimes.''

''Your words not mine, but try not to be so hard on yourself.'' She commented as she leaned against the wall right next to me.

''I'll try, but no promises.'' I nodded slightly. Once again silence was surrounding us, well except for the rucks made by Meguri and Yura who wanted to decide which of the characters they were dressed as was the better swordsman.

I sighed tiredly as something in the back of my head was warning me that the situation might get a little too wild if I'm not careful. Moving my eyes to the side I took a better look at our team's queen, curiosity taking me over as I got a better look at her face, an action which she noticed. ''Do I have something on my face?''

I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. ''No... the exact opposite. You don't have your glasses on.''

Her eyes widened slightly as she gave me a small nod. ''The character I'm dressed as doesn't wear any from what I'm told. So I'm wearing contacts to make my eyes red.''

''... I see.''

''Do I look that weird without them?'' she asked after a few moments of silence.

I wondered for a moment what I should say, taking another look at her face. I closed my eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. ''Not at all, you look great with or without them.''

Perhaps I said something wrong as she just stared at me without saying a word, her cheeks starting to get just red as her eyes. She took a step forward and walked away, moving somewhat sluggish from her usual self. ''W-Well I'm off to try some of sweets before they happen to mysteriously vanish.''

Ok... what was that all about?

''It seems the party already started hasn't it?''

And the woman who we can all thank for this wonderful evening has finally arrived. ''Apparently it did maste-''

My mouth seemed to have stopped moving when I saw the costume my master was wearing. It wasn't something around the lines of obscene like Hanakai's or creepy like Kusaka's, but it was something I personally wouldn't have expected Sona Sitri of all people to wear.

She was wearing what I can assume is a tight fitting black short dress, which although covered her to her neck it had a cut out over her chest revealing a generous amount of cleavage. The lower part of the dress is split apart over her right hip, revealing that she has a white leotard under the dress. On her hands she wears elegant white gloves with black fingers. Her footwear consists of black stockings reaching to her thighs, covered by a pair of polished high heeled boots that reach just above her knees.

The dress aside, the most notable change was from neck usual black hair was now white in color, a small mole was present under her lower lip, but the most curious part was the black blindfold tied around her eyes.

''Something wrong?'' she asked me as she tilted her head.

I took a deep breath and tried to think of what to say. ''I'm surprised in your costume choice…''

She walked in front of me, barely any space between us, because I was taller than her even though she was wearing high-heels I tried my best not to look down at her considering the lack of material in the chest area. ''Is it that weird for a girl to be into video games?''

''No, not really, I'm kinda used to it since Mitsuzuri always calls me over to play with her…'' I replied honestly... huh now that I think about it, I recall her showing me recently a poster of game she really wanted to get, said poster had a woman who looked just like my master looked now... except she was more, ahem, gifted in certain areas. ''I'm just shocked that you of all people are into video games.''

She leaned over and gave me a mischievous smile, feeling somewhat taken back by her uncharacteristic behaviour. ''There are many things you don't know about me Emiya.''

''… Obviously.'' I muttered as I took a step backward, feeling really awkward so close to her, only to find her staring at me, which was weird considering her eyes are covered. ''Something on my face?... Except the ton of makeup that is.''

She pointed to my pointed. ''Be sure to wash that hair dye. Green isn't your color.''

''Already planned it.'' I commented somewhat reassured of the feeling of her strictness bringing back the normality between us. ''… That dress looks good on you by the way.''

She didn't move or say anything, her face appearing unmoved, though more redder.

''… T-Thank you.'' she stuttered as she walked in front me. ''We should go, the others are waiting.''

I shrugged my shoulder and started walking behind her, a curious thought wondering through my mind. ''Say, how can you see with that blindfold?''

''The fabric is see through.''

''…I see.''

She turned her head and smiled gently at me. ''I hope you know what will happen if I catch you starring at my back?''

I wanted to ask what she was talking about, but after taking a quick look to how her dress looked from the back I instantly understood what she was referring to. ''I'd rather not imagine.''

''Good choice.'' she chuckled.

''Emi-chan!'' The war cry like scream of Meguri made me almost draw a katana out of reflex. I looked towards her and saw her sitting victorious over the defeated body of Yura, her sword drawn and a battle hungry smile radiated on her face.

I swallowed nervously, something telling me she wasn't going to invite me over for a cookie. ''Y-Yes?''

She took a heavy step forward and walked in front of me, sword prepared for time, a burning flame ragging in her eyes. ''It's time to decide who world's best swordsmen is! Is it the user of the Flying Heaven Govern Sword-Style or the user of the Three-Swords Style?! Let's find out!''

In this kind of situation there was only one logical thing to ask. ''...What?''

I looked over to the others hopping I might get some help. Nimura and Shinra-senpai shrugged their shoulders in defeat, Saji was busy licking a lollipop and just gave me a thumbs up. Yura just got up from the floor and looked at me with a tired expression. ''Sorry Emiya once she gets started like that there's no stopping her.''

''Five candy apples on Tomoe.'' Kusaka told Hanakai.

''Yeah right, seven on Emiya!'' Hanakai added her own two cents.

Despair began filling me as this situation was getting out of control, so I decided to put my faith into the most competent and serious member of our team. ''Master?''

She simply shrugged her shoulders and gave me a sly smile. ''I'm sorry, but I can't see what's going on because of the blindfold.''

Traitor!

Meguri took a battle stance I never saw before and was getting anxious to jump at me and begin her so little destined battle. It seemed that there was no way that this whole sugar rush induced fiasco can be solved with a peaceful talk. I let out a sigh in defeat... If you can't beat them, join them.

I unwrapped the bandanna around my arm and tied it tightly around my head, drawing all three katana's and assuming a battle stance. One in my left hand, one in my right hand, and the last one held firmly in place with my teeth. A single muffled sentence escaping my katana filled mouth as I jumped into battle. ''...Definitely dressing as Goku next year.''

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Instructor it lives!'' Illya beamed.

''About time we had an update and we even got a battle at the end of.'' Taiga commented as she picked her nose. ''Well I guess it fine.''

''Was I the only who was praying that the spider woman won't sexually abuse our main character?'' Miyu asked stoically while looking to the camera.

''You don't know how hard it was to keep this snow flake from breaking out of this segment and go save Shirou.'' Taiga commented with a sigh.

''I couldn't help it! Onii-chan was about to get raped by some crazy spider woman!'' Illya defended herself.

''While I can agree on the whole rape part, the other one shouldn't really be a bother. This is a DxD crossover so inter-species relationships aren't such a big deal. You shouldn't be surprised if your bro comes home someday with some obscene cat girl or some sexy angel.'' Taiga remarked dryly.

''There's no way that could happen!'' Illya shouted.

''I wouldn't be so sure Illya… It seems like Ray-san has developed strong taste for trolling people.'' Miyu stated with a solemn expression.

''…We're royally screwed aren't we?'' Illya asked with void eyes.

''We were from the beginning… it just took us a while to realize it.'' Miyu hugged Illya in a sisterly fashion.

''Earth to the two emo-loli's. Come over here and check this site I found.'' Taiga nagged at them.

''T.V. Tropes?'' Miyu tilted her head confused as she read the title of the site.

''Yep, now kook at this title over here!'' Taiga smirked as she clicked on a certain page.

Illya's eyes widened as she read the title of the new page. ''Is that our story?''

''Yep, we officially have our own page on TV Tropes, so if any tropers or trope experts out there are reading this, please feel free to drop at our page 'A fake hero' and add any trope you feel like is missing from it.''

''Wow, it even has its own story cover.'' Miyu commented with sparks in her eyes.

Illya on the other hand was blushing and starring intensely. ''Onii-chan looks so serious.''

Taiga slapped her shinai over the laptop and shouted. ''Stop drooling over your big bro and do your thing!''

''Stay tuned for the next chapter.'' Illya and Miyu said in synch.

''Check it out!'' Taiga yelled

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Ok so I managed to finish this. Took me a little more because I keep researching the Typemoon wiki so that the things I state this chapter wasn't just me bullshiting but real solid stuff.**

 **Anyone remember in the early chapters how Sella said she will teach Shirou magecraft? Well I didn't forget that and dedicated a chapter to it.**

 **Before you go and say that Shirou shouldn't learn anything else besides his original repertoire of skills, isn't it that just boring? Why not give him some basic magecraft to make him more versatile. Now I won't go and invent different forms of magecraft, so I used already existing one from the wikia, all while picking up the ones that sound like Shirou can use in spite of his specialization.**

 **It also helps that I'm specifying what Shirou can and cannot do. I'm not sure about you guys, but I keep reading stories in which Shirou learned new spells and stuff during his travels or early life and how he just pulls out certain spells or moves at that exact time when he needs them and I'm like 'where the hell did that come from?'**

 **It's one thing with weapons since we kinda know that Archer and Shirou have pretty much any weapon they ever need so you can expect them to pull out some never mentioned before weapon.**

 **So I will avoid the old 'Shirou learned that off-screen and is using it at the right moment' and instead mention what he is capable of doing. This is what a big part of this chapter is about, increasing Shirou's options, while also limiting them. I mean you read a chapter of a story, MC is in a pinch, he uses a never before seen technique or skill and when people around him ask about it he is just i learned it a while ago, or I just came up with it on the spot. Doesn't that make you cringe a little.**

 **If I made any mistakes in my magecraft statements this chapter please inform me.**

 **So I originally wanted to end this chapter with Shirou discovering how to use his bow, but then I thought about it and realized many will think this chapter was rather bland and boring so included a stray fight at the end.**

 **Not as intense and meaningful as the one with Kurosaiga, but hey who doesn't like a fight where Shirou actually kicks ass.**

 **Before anyone goes and bites my head of for including the whole sword incarnation part, hear me out. I'm well aware that its not a canon concept, but i find quite unfair that Rin's condition has a name, Average one, while shirou who is the MC doesn't have one. So here I am using this one.**

 **One thing i would like to point out. A reader asked me privately how far i'm going to go with this story. So to avoid having to answer this question again in the future, I will give an answer now. On a personal level I don't think i want to go past volume 23 (May God give me strength to reach volume 23 in the first place), i might change my mind if the final volumes creates an event or final boss that deserves to write about.**

 **Also I merged the Halloween special with this new chapter since it would look kinda bad when taking each chapter one by one.**

 **So... about next chapter... not sure if i will be able to finish it before the years over... So this is probably the last chapter of the year, so I will see you guys in 2018, and hope that I can make myself write faster.**

 **Oh, one last thing, is any of you guys good with phone software? Someone showed me a way to get Fate/grand order despite being unavailable in my country and i did get it, problem is i can't seem to make it work on my phone. Anybody here that could help me? I have a** **THL 5000 Android 4.4, 5 Inch Smartphone. For requirements i think its ok, but how do i configure it to allow fgo to work?**

* * *

 **Let's answer some reviews: ... Not too many things I can answer though. Most of them are either 'thumbs up' reviews or long complaints letters nailed to my door.**

 **98kazer: Is interesting when you say that, i do admire both them and their writing styles, but i can't go around imitating them, so I'm trying to develop my own style.**

 **Kuroshinobi 13: Let's just say when the two of them confront each other about the truth it will go in a different way from what you may expect. About Gremory group pairings... a bit of a sensitive topic. I'm not sure at the moment, but I might change my mind depending how the story goes.**

 **Kratos1989: They are hiding underneath the floor. As i mention in the early chapters, this story will have a big focus on mentality aspect of Shirou. The drama and terror of losing sight of who you really are, Shirou will be facing this. And yeah he's a troll, he's Archer duh, everyone's favorite sarcastic servant.**

 **Daemon of Wrath: It would have been a dick move to make this story revolve around the sitri team and not give them development. Technically the subject of the discussion wasn't to talk about their past but rather why they joined, while the others had long running reason that led to them becoming devils, Shirou was kinda dragged in it, so he really didn't have to tell his background.**

 **EternalKing: Huh... I'm surprised someone actually gets what I was trying to showcase with that simple scene.**

 **Dragon-XZero: ... It depends how the story progresses in certain aspects, it might happen but I can't say for sure when.**

 **xbox432: ...I think I might just use that idea, sounds like it will give a lot of laughs.**

 **Ultimate-Zelda-fan: ...Ok seriously WTF? I wrote that myslef and didn't notice it?**

 **Dareth: With the exception of Tsubaki and Meguri who had partially revealed backgrounds by the time I started thinking of ideas, everyone else is original base of real life troubled people I met.**

 **Galeiam: You will see in the future chapters why i'm not changing that tag, there's reason to it.**

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, i could use some constructive criticism.**


	10. School life problems

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _I should have listened to her at that time..._

 _Obviously I didn't..._

 _I became more distant towards her..._

 _Slowly hurting her with my own ignorance..._

 _Now I can't even apologize to her..._

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

 **School life problems**

* * *

''Morning guys.'' I greeted everyone casually with a smile as I stepped in the student council office.

With the exception of Saji, Tsubaki-senpai and my master, everyone else was already here doing prep work for today, all of them greeting me as I placed my backpack on a nearby chair. It was Meguri that walked near me with a curious look present on her face. ''Rather late Shi-chan. You usually arrive before the rest of us, did something happen?''

''Sorry I'm late. I'm afraid I got lost on the road of life'' I replied while scratching the back of my head. It wasn't exactly a lie per se, it just took me a while to get here since I was experimenting a little with my structural grasping. As I kept walking towards school I analysed anything that I came across, it varied from cars, light poles, and fences among many other things. It's quite the good practice, but it also has its downsides. A thing I noted down is to avoid using it on peoples clothes unless it's necessary... the things that I saw in the history of some students clothes made me want to drill a hole in my head and pour bleach in it.

It also didn't help that Archer was laughing his ass off at my suffering.

That aside, the past days have been quite hectic with my magecraft training. Sella originally thought I had large talent considering how fast I learned the spells from the card, but when it came to learning from her I was quite inept. Not that I don't understand the concepts of how to use the branches of magecraft she is currently teaching me, I'm just am a slow learner. Only yesterday she showed me how to use alchemy and change the form of a metal pipe, and she made me do the same. It was supposed to be easy on paper, just modify the frame of the pipe and turn it from a perfect straight pipe into a W-shape, nothing complicated. I don't know what went wrong, but somehow, for some God forsaken reason the pipe took a rather... obscene form.

I honestly didn't blame Sella for taking the new pipe out of my hand and started beating me with it while shouting a long list of words I couldn't quite understand, except for the occasional: 'Beast! Pervert! Deviant!'

Damn... my face hurts from remembering that. Shoving those painful memories aside, I continued my talk with the knight of the group. ''Hope I didn't worry you Meguri.''

''Hmm?'' Tomoe hummed as she suddenly covered the distance between us until there were mere inches between our faces. A shadow present over her eyes as she smiled to me, a smile that was scaring me. ''I'm sorry, I think I might have misheard what you just said, care to repeat yourself?''

I took a moment as I contemplated what she said, a sigh escaping my lips as I realized what she was pointing at. ''Will you really keep doing that face until I do as you say?''

''Yep!'' she nodded vigorously, the creepy smile still hasn't gone away.

''Fine, you win... Tomoe.'' I commented with a sigh.

''See, was it that hard?'' The group's knight chirped with a smile as she ruffled my hair as if I was some kind of dog.

Ever since the talk we had after the Kurosaiga fiasco, Tomoe has decided to help deepen our bonds as both a team but also as friends, so she instilled a rule among us, that we should call each other by our gives names. Now that may not seem like a big deal to some people, but here in Japan people make a big deal when it comes to showing proper respect, as such people usually address their friends and acquaintances by their family name or with a proper suffix, and call only good friends and people they have a deep trust in by their given names casually.

Many may find it rude to do otherwise. Letting all of that aside, I noticed that Momo was gesturing towards me. ''Shirou can you come here for a sec?''

I nodded as I walked in front of the white haired bishop, her hands and eyes seemed to be busy with her cell phone even though she called for me. ''Sure, what's the matter?''

She ruffled her hair a little with her free hand, her eyes still locked on her little gadget in her opposite hand. ''I tried looking for you on Facebook and couldn't find you.''

Well... that was something I never thought I would hear from her. ''I don't think you will find me...''

She finally stopped looking at her phone and fixed her sight on me. ''Why? Did you use a different variation of your name or something?''

A tired sigh left my mouth as looked somewhat awkward to the side. ''No, I don't have any account in the first place.''

She stared at me directly in the eyes. ''... You're joking right?''

''No.'' I answered firmly.

''So no Facebook?'' she asked again even though I just said I don't.

''No.''

''Twitter?''

''No.''

''Instagram?''

Okay, I had enough of this. ''No, and before you keep asking I don't have any account on any social media site.''

''None at all?'' she asked me with noticeable disbelief in her voice.

I sighed tiredly, this kind of stuff was really something I'm not used to. ''No, I just never found it that important so I never bothered trying to make any account.''

Even though Mitsuzuri always nagged me that I should make one, I just never really saw the benefits of having one in the first place, it also doesn't help that I always see people checking the social accounts with their phones at every free second they have like their lives depends on it. Don't want to start getting involved with a useless time consuming thing when I could use it for something more constructive, or helping someone in need.

Momo continued to stare at me before she moved her gaze towards the side, gesturing slightly towards the blue haired girl in the room. ''... Tsubasa-chan.''

''On it.'' The teams rook said with flat emotionless tone.

Seconds later she was behind me and picked me up like a mannequin, guess that's rook strength for you, much to my disdain. ''Hey! What are you doing?!''

''Shut up or I'll kick your ass.'' The slightly androgynous girl commented as she carried me to our master's desk and placed me in her seat, arranging me in it, making my chin rest on my palm.

''Now stay like that and don't move.'' Momo commented as she was holding her phone in front of me. ''Smile.''

Sighing in defeated I tried my best to smile despite how perplexing this whole situation was. I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the sting caused by her phones blitz. ''Did it come out right?''

''It works I guess.'' Reya, who just walked next to them, commented as she looked at the picture Momo just took of me. ''If he would have smiled less awkwardly it might have been better.''

After the sting in my eyes was gone I decided to see what this was all about. ''So can you now tell me what you're doing?''

''Something you will thank me later for.'' Momo commented as she kept tapping on her phone for a while before handing it to me. ''Here, write your email address and a password.''

''Why?'' I asked somewhat uncertain.

''Just humor me.'' She replied with half lidded eyes, a bored expression present on her face.

I didn't reply and just did as she said, clearly this was one of those discussions you can't win no matter what solid arguments you bring to the table, the kind that I often have with Iri which I never am able to win.

''Good. Now we go over here, work a little here, post this right here.'' Our white haired bishop kept muttering to herself as she kept buttoning her phone. ''There you go I made you a Facebook account.''

''Was all of this really necessary?'' I asked, unsure to how to feel about this whole thing, somewhat surprised that everyone else in the room gathered behind Momo. ''I think not being involved with any social media isn't such a big deal.''

She looked at me and gave me a dry stare. ''Shirou please trust me, in this day and age you do _need_ a social media account even if you don't want one.''

I took a moment and pondered on it for a bit before I answered. ''... I still fail to see the point.''

''Look it isn't a matter of-'' She was about to comment until a bell like sound from her phone got her attention. ''Huh, would you look at that.''

''What's up guys?'' I turned around and looked at Saji who just arrived, hands waiving to us, a big grin present on his face as he casually threw his backpack on a chair.

''Morning Saji.'' I greeted him as he walked to us, a curious look forming on his face.

''What are you all rounded up like that for?'' he asked as he walked behind the group that was behind Momo, rising on the tips of his toes in an attempt to see what everyone was looking at.

''We just made Shirou a Facebook account.'' Momo explained as she gestured towards her phone.

''You didn't have one?'' My fellow pawn asked with disbelief in his voice, his eyes half closing as a sigh escaped his mouth. ''Wow, that's sad.''

I was about to comment to this but stopped as Momo began gesturing to her phone while looking at me. ''Shirou you just got a friend request.''

''From who?'' Apparently it was Ruruko who asked before I got the chance.

Our groups white haired bishop tilted her head slightly as everyone was staring at her phone, looking like she was having a hard time reading what she was seeing. ''Some lady called Irisviel von Einzbern, wow, that's a mouthful.''

It took me a couple of seconds to reboot and process what she just said, a deep sense of dread began flourishing in my stomach. ''...What?''

From what I could see, I was being ignored as everyone was focused on the picture in the phone. ''Oh my, she is so beautiful.'' Ruruko commented.

''Hey, lemme see.'' Saji said as he managed to push his head underneath Ruruko's arm, much to the said girls shock. His eyes wide and gaping at the sight he had in front of them. ''Holy shit man! She's super-hot!''

How curious... I wonder if it's normal to feel this livid when a guy my age is ogling at my mom. Unfortunately I didn't have time to ponder on this as Tsubasa was patting me on the shoulder, a shit eating grin present on her face. ''So~ who is she Shirou?''

All of the annoyance I had seemed to vanish and got replaced by a very deep feeling of awkwardness. Taking a deep breath I decided to roll with it. ''... My mom.''

It was interesting to say the least to see all of them stop starring at the phone, raise their heads and look at me with deadpan expression, all in perfect sync. The stares they were giving me made me feel like I grew a second head or something. ''What?''

It seemed Saji was the first to step up with the interrogation, an annoyed scowl present on his face. ''Okay man if you don't want us to know how you know her you can at least try a better lie.''

I shook my head in denial. ''I'm not lying, she really is my mom.''

Tsubasa for one didn't seem to buy it any more than the others. ''You expect us to believe that such a young looking woman is a mother, let alone yours?''

''Guys... I don't think he's lying.'' Reya commented as she pointed back the phone. ''Look at this picture she posted a while ago.''

My instincts that I began honing ever since I got involved with the supernatural began ringing bells in my head, making my way to see just what they were looking at. I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment at what I was seeing. It was a picture that Iri made Liz take a while ago, it featured me and Illya being held by Iri in a tight affectionate hug, the title she put for the picture being: 'Feeling super happy with my precious children.'

Dammit! I begged Liz to erase that picture before it gets in the wrong hands! I even bribed her with a whole batch of cookies!

Tsubasa was the one to raise her head first and look at me with a bemused look. ''... So she really is your mother?''

A sigh escaped my lips as I vigorously rubbed the bridge of my nose. ''... That's what I kept telling you guys.''

They all looked at me, then back to the picture, then back to me. ''You don't look like her at all.''

Seriously, the way they all managed to speak in perfect sync made me wonder if this was all rehearsed. Brushing that thought aside I gazed to the side awkwardly as they all waited for an explanation. ''I'm adopted.''

''Oh, that makes sense now.'' They all nodded and went back starring at the pictures.

''So that means this little girl here is your sister?'' Ruruko asked curiously.

A tired reluctant nod was all I can give, since I couldn't beat them, I might as well join them and get this over with. ''Yeah, her name is Illyasviel, but everyone calls her Illya.''

''She's super cute!'' Tomoe squealed exited, a small glint present in her eyes, which for some unknown reason made feel that I should avoid letting her ever met Illya.

''Hey scroll down a little, is there a picture with his dad?'' Tsubasa asked Momo as she pushed her head closer in an attempt to get a better view. ''I'm really curious how the guy who married such a beauty looks like.''

''Let's see...'' Momo kept scrolling down on the page, my eyes getting glimpses of some of the pictures Iri had posted, a lot of them were from her business trips all over the world, others with her and Illya, even a few with her, Liz and Sella. The white haired bishop stopped as she found the picture she was looking for, her eyes widening slightly as a complex stare adorned her face. ''... There is one, but I'm not sure if I should show you this one.''

''Just what could it be so weird in it?'' Saji asked curiously as he crossed his arms under his chest.

Momo didn't reply and simply showed the picture she found. It was a close up with my dad and Iri, the latter giving a back hug to the man that raised me all while she used her fingers to push the corners of his mouth upwards in an attempt to make him smile. It might have worked if my dad didn't have a somewhat dead eyes stare. The picture once again had a title: 'Putting a big smile on my mister Grumpy Cat.'

I honestly wasn't too surprised that Saji's face fell and his eyes half closed. ''... I take it back, that right there looks weird as hell.''

What did surprise me on the other hand was Tomoe breaking down in a powerful laughter. ''She is right! He does look like that weird cat!''

''I think they look cute together.'' Reya commented softly, her respectful personality probably didn't allow her to laugh the way that Tomoe was, but she still seemed to have a hard time suppressing her chuckle.

Tsubasa grinned at me with an amused smirk and half closed eyes, patting me on the back in a brotherly manner. ''Must be interesting living with a mom like that.''

A growl escaped my lips as my hand covered my face in an attempt to hide it from the world. ''... Leave me alone.''

Perhaps it wasn't a good idea when dad taught Iri how to use a laptop... scratch that, the nightmare began when she was taught about the existence of the internet.

''Good morning.'' The new voice got my attention, turning around to see my master and Tsubaki-senpai just stepping in the room.

''Morning Kaichou, Tsubaki-senpai.'' I greeted them both as I walked to a nearby seat, everyone else following suit as they knew as I do that our master doesn't like us goofing around in her office, especially her desk. After a minute or so of us getting back to our seats and a small briefing about what we each have to today, our master decided to give us a few minutes before we started our council duties.

''Ready for a new day of work?'' Tsubasa asked our groups sometimes hyperactive knight.

''You bet!'' Tomoe nodded vigorously in response, giving the blue haired girl a thumbs up.

''It's good to see you're in good spirits Tomoe.'' Tsubaki-senpai offered a small smile in response to our knight's rather contagious personality. ''If all of us had the same type of energy you have, we probably would run out of work to do.''

''I wouldn't worry about that aspect Tsubaki, after all we do have someone who gives us more extra work at unreasonable hours.'' Sona commented as she threw one of her glowing glasses glare towards me.

Ouch, that felt like an arrow that stabbed through me. I guess she is still a bit pissed about the whole spider stray devil fiasco I got caught a couple of days ago. Apparently she was still half asleep when she answered my call and was similarly half asleep when she teleported to where I was. She didn't even change out of her sleeping clothes... I never thought a girl her age wears Hello Kitty pajamas.

When I explained what happened to me she just stared at me for minute with half asleep eyes. She then turned around and walked to the nearest tree and started hitting her head against it. Needless to say, the events of that night are better to never be brought up again.

''Actually before we get to work, is anyone in the mood for something sweet?'' We all turned around and looked at my master who waved her hand upwards and a magic circle began teleporting something. ''I made a cake.''

Without a second to spare Saji jumped from his seat all excited like a child on Christmas. ''Cake made by Kaichou! Sign me up!''

While I never had much of a sweet tooth to begin with, a slice of cake did sound good at the time. I wanted to ask if anyone else wants me to bring them a slice but stopped as I saw the pale and terrified looks on every reincarnated devil in the room. I looked over to our queen who seemed to have the sickest looking face out of the whole group. ''Is something wrong Tsubaki-senpai? Everyone looks somewhat disturbed.''

She moved her eyes slowly and looked into my own, unadulterated seriousness coated with fear present in them as she slowly began. ''... Swallow, don't chew or taste, that's all I can tell you.''

Her cryptic message put me on the edge, mentally preparing myself for what may come as I walked towards my masters desk and gazed on the piece of confectionery goods she made, honestly surprised by what I saw.

''Wow! This looks amazing!'' Saji remarked as he walked next to me, which I had to agree with, the cake looked amazing, easily passing off as one from a cooking book or a magazine.

''... Yeah, it does.'' I admitted as I took a slice.

Both me and Saji each took a fork and picked a piece of the cake. The very moment the piece of sweet treat brushed against my lips a sense of pure dread invaded my body in an attempt to warn me about what was about to happen.

It was already too late, I already tasted it.

It felt like I had a grenade shoved in my mouth and somebody decided to suddenly pull the pin. In less than a second an explosion various different flavors savagely melded together in my mouth, sending shrapnel's of horrible after tastes on every inch of my tongue. Something was cold and hot, bitter and salty, texture was rough and crunchy, the cream was solid for a second then it liquefied and then solid again. As I swallowed, it felt like it was forcefully dragged down my throat, trying to claw its way back.

It felt like my body was a tuning fork and the moment I tasted it someone violently hit me, causing me to vibrate uncontrollably. My eyes stung as they resisted the urge to cry, cold bullets of sweat running down my back, my gag reflex trying its best not to act up.

Well… I can say without a doubt in my heart that this is the worst cake I ever ate, no scratch that, this is the worst thing I ate EVER!

 _ **''By Zelretchs unholy beard! How in Gaia and Alaya's name is it possible to make something look okay and taste so bad?!''**_ To my surprised it seems I wasn't the only one who was suffering from this failed attempt of a cake.

 _''How the hell do you know how it taste since I'm the one who tried it?!''_

 _ **''No clue! The only explanation I can think of is that it's so bad that it transcends spiritual boundaries and reaches all the way here.''**_ he uncharacteristically shouted in both anger and exhaustion, similar to a certain Scottish chef from TV. A pained croak resonated in my mind, gasping desperately for air. _ **''D-Damn... it's making me feel light headed... Shit, this stuff could even take out one of Heracles lives... What are all those weird colors?... Why does it feel like the day after tomorrow was yesterday?... I'm g-gonna-''**_

...

Huh... so this cake can make Archer shut up... if it wasn't so repulsing that it made me want to eat a blazing charcoal to kill my taste in an attempt to spare them of further suffering, I might have considered getting the recipe just to make him shut up.

''Saji-senpai!'' Ruruko's desperate shout managed to break me out of this cake induced trip. Looking to my left I finally saw the state my fellow pawn was in. If the cake was slowly torturing me at both a physical and metal level, Saji seemed to be spared somewhat as the cake made him faint on the spot, eyes rolled up and white foam pouring out of his mouth.

Trying to recover myself from the cake that made my mouth feel like it was nuked, I looked around and saw my master looking at me with large uncertain eyes. ''Does it taste bad?''

Okay… either the cake is causing me to hallucinate or my master is really concerned about what we think about her cake. As a person who enjoys cooking I always appreciated when people tried my cooking and said it was good, but I also appreciated when someone pointed out something I did wrong or could have done in order to make the food I made even better. Constructive criticism as Sella put it.

So growing up with such a view on cooking I myself developed a small critical side, just a few advice's or suggestions, nothing too serious that may make look like I'm trying to a jerk. However, in this case I have to lower my restraints in order to prevent any more victims in the nearby future. ''With all the respect that I have for you as my master, I can't tell a lie when it comes to cooking. This cake has to be the worst thing I ever tasted.''

''Oh...'' She muttered slowly in a defeated tone, small glints of tears forming in her eyes as she disappointed looked at me. ''… Is it really that bad?''

I took a moment and pinched my leg to see if I was hallucinating by any chance. Sadly I wasn't. Shit… I wasn't expecting that Sona Sitri, the girl known as the Ice queen of the student council would be this affected from a damn cake!

Before I could even try to repair what I said, my breath was cut off. Looking up I saw Tsubasa holding my head in a vice lock, an annoyed scowl present on her tomboyish face. ''Dammit Shirou! Be more considerate towards her feelings!''

After I struggled for a little I managed to loosen her grip enough for me to breathe, also reply to her with a serious tone. ''I-I think it's worse to lie to her.''

It seemed that my master picked on what I was implying, looking at her peerage, her very own comrades in arms with a betrayed look. ''Wait, you all tried my cakes and said that they were good... were those all lies?''

Everyone flinched at this as she was right on, no one daring to look her in the eyes out of shame. Salvation however came from our queen as she stepped up and placed a hand on our master's shoulder, looking her dead in the eyes. ''... Sona you're like the sister I never had but he is right, your cakes are horrible. I never spoke up before because I didn't want to hurt your feelings.''

''Same here.'' Everyone present agreed, visibly ashamed by this.

Our master stared at them for a few moments, appearing to ponder on what has happened, her head dropping in defeat. ''... Now I feel bad that I always made you eat them.''

Now that I managed to escape Tsubasa's head lock, I walked next to my master and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring look when she looked at me. ''Look master I'm not trying to be a jerk, but the flavor combinations you used just don't work together.''

Her eyes were locked on my own, carefully listening to me as I went on. ''I am not by any means an expert on sweets, but I know my way with them, so if you want to learn how to properly make a cake I'm can always make time and teach you what I know.''

There was a deep silence in the room, no one daring to speak up before out master did, her violet eyes staring into my own, lips curling all too slightly into a small smile. ''... I would like that.''

Giving her a nod in agreement I turned back to the others only to stare at the collection of relieved expressions each of them were displaying. The most surprising one I found was of the groups little pawn, who was actually crying. ''Is something wrong Ruruko?''

The mentioned girl shook her head as she whipped her tears away. ''You don't know how long we wanted to tell her that, but none of us had the courage to do it. Now we're free of the cake hell, thanks a lot Shirou-senpai.''

Huh... now that I think about it they have all been devils longer than me, Tsubaki-senpai probably the longest out of all of us. Ohh... it seems their initial reactions when they heard the word cake was justified if all the cakes our master has made up until now are on the same level of nastiness. I can't help but feel pity for them.

Scratching the back of my head I noticed the time on my watch and realized that I still have stuff to do. Looking at the person on the floor I couldn't help but sigh. ''Well it seems like Saji will be out for the count...'' ''

Taking the list from the desk I made my way to the door. ''I guess I will have to check the clubs by myself.''

''Don't be ridiculous Shirou, there are far too many clubs just for one person to verify.'' My master, who apparently reverted to her usual professional and strict demeanor, commented just as I was about to touch the doorknob.

Waving my hand to them, I offered them a reassuring smile. ''It no big deal, I can handle it.''

She didn't seem to agree with me as she rearranged her glasses and gave me a cold glare. ''Shirou I admit I can be demanding when it comes to our duties, but I don't want to overwork people when I can do otherwise.''

I sighed in defeat as I knew that this was one of those discussion I couldn't win and simply stared at her. She cupped her chin with her hand as looked around the people in the room, her eyes stopping on our two bishops. ''Reya, Momo would you mind helping him out?''

The white haired bishop gave her a thumbs up in response. ''No problem!''

''Same here.'' Reya nodded gently with a smile on her face.

Our master's sight was now focused on me. ''There you go. Be sure to note down any complains, requests or suggestions that the club presidents have.''

''Noted.''

''Was that a pun?'' She asked with a bemused smile.

''Not intentionally.'' I sighed as I walked out of the room.

* * *

''Well look who it is.'' If her sly smile was any indication, Mitsuzuri was in a good mood. ''Did you start missing me and decided to give me a visit?''

''Real funny Mitsuzuri.'' I rolled my eyes as I walked in the archery club. After a little debating, Reya suggested that we split up and each cover a certain number of clubs so we save time. That being said my first stop on the list was the very club I used to be part of during my freshman year. ''I'm here for club inspection.''

My former rival in archery gave me an acknowledging nod as she led me inside. ''You don't say. So what's this inspection all about?''

As we got near the archery rage we took a seat on some open chairs. ''It's mostly checking if everything is in proper conditions. Stuff like the budget and the equipment condition.''

She nodded slightly as she crossed her arms under her chest. ''Our budget could be a little more consistent, but considering the number of clubs we have, I don't think that would happen.''

I couldn't help but agree with her, at the start of each semester the overall club budgets are divided among the schools club in a most equal manner possible so there aren't any complains about favoritism. As much as I would like to help them get a budget increase it would cause more trouble than good. ''Sorry, I would do something if I can, but i my hands are tied.''

She waved her hand as she leaned her back on the chair, her hair hanging in the air. ''No biggie. Budget aside, our equipment has been showing signs of degradation and that could turn out to be a problem, it also doesn't help that the first years don't take proper care of it when they use it.''

Should a mirror been placed in front of me, I would probably see the reflection of a small glint in my eyes. ''If that's all that you need I can repair and maintain anything that needs it.''

''Oh right, you used to do stuff like that when you were part of the club didn't you?'' She leaned back up and looked at me with a closed eye. ''It's been a while, and there's quite an amount that needs checking, do you think you can managed all the equipment?''

With the risk of sounding arrogant, ever since I started practicing my structural grasping with electronic appliances and mechanical objects I became quite the master maintenance/repair man. Because I could see the history of an object, I can see the initial state the said object was in before it started having problems, that way I can identify the source of the problem instantly and know what I can do to fix it, but that was something I wasn't going to tell Mitsuzuri, so instead I gave her a smile. ''I won't know until I try.''

My oldest friend looked at me with uncertain eyes before she started chuckling. ''It's good to see that goofy face of yours. Feels like years since I last saw it.''

I tilted my head confused by her statement. ''Why do you say that?''

She put her elbow on the counter next to her chair and rested her chin on her palm. ''Well you know, ever since you joined the council we barely talk anymore. Stuff like this makes a girl think you don't want to talk to her anymore.''

Of all the things she could have been referring to I wasn't expecting this, it sure made me feel awkward, my hand scratching the back of my head as I looked to the side, feeling a bit bad that I can't tell her the truth, about how I ended up in this whole supernatural fiasco, but if I did that she would probably think I'm crazy, but most of all it can put her in danger. ''It's not like I've been avoiding you, just had a lot of stuff going on lately.''

A tired sigh escaped her lips as she looked at me with half-closed eyes. ''I can understand that, but it wouldn't hurt to give a call and chat a little.''

When she puts it like that... I guess she is right. We never talked that much outside of school before I became a devil, but we would always chat in breaks and on our way back home. Joining the student council took over that time we had so we really haven't talked that much recently.

''You should try to look at things from another person's perspective Emiya.'' Her tone softened together with her eyes as they stared into mine, her brown orbs appearing sad even though she was smiling. ''Not saying you're doing anything bad intentionally, but sometimes you can hurt people by ignoring them.''

I looked to the ground for a couple of seconds, have I really been ignoring her and by an extension hurt her... no, this wrong, I never wanted to hurt her in any way. Looking back at her I saw her smile at me with closed eyes. ''Who knows, one day you may leave a hole in my chest with the way you're acting sometimes.''

Those words... I didn't like them one bit. My right hand tightening on reflex as I stared Mitsuzuri in the eyes. ''... I would never hurt you.''

A soft chuckle escaped her lips as leaned her head to side. ''I know... so just try talking to me sometimes.''

''I'll try... '' was all I could say at the moment. I never was really good with social activity so this might be a bit of a challenge. No, I have to take the proverbial bull by the horns and be proactive. That being said... what should we talk about?

It's usually Mitsuzuri who started the conversations between us and I followed suit. Thinking about it for a bit I failed to find any interesting topic to talk about. With a sigh I decided to roll with the first thing that came to my mind. ''Say Mitsuzuri, did you know that people think we're a couple?''

''Hmm?'' The moment I saw her raise an eyebrow at my question was the very same moment I realized what I just said and wanted to punch myself in the face.

Watching her sit and expect me to continue I decided to screw it and go on, more careful this time with what I'm saying. ''Yeah Saji told me that he thought we're a couple, only for the other members of the council to point out that the whole school believes that. Can you believe that?''

Her face wasn't one of her usual amused smiles, but an honest confused one. ''What are you talking about Emiya, we've been a couple ever since we started high school.''

I took deep breath and waited for about five seconds, then another five. Nope, I couldn't keep together and lost my calm. ''What?! When?! How?!''

She didn't answer and just looked at me, the corners of her mouths trembling as she suddenly exploded into an uncontrolled laughter, holding her sides with her arms. ''Man you should have seen the look on your face, it was priceless.''

This must have been first time my right eye twitched this hard, the girl in front of me was clearly taking pleasure in my inability to cope with this kind of situations. With a final muffled laugh she whipped the tears from eyes and straightened herself. ''Really Emiya! You need to learn and just take it easy, not everything is meant to be taken serious.''

I didn't say anything, while it's good to see her laugh and be happy it is a bit annoying that is resulted from making fun of me. ''Also regarding that rumor, it never really bothered me. I found it funny actually.''

While her smirk was telling me there was more to it, I decided to let it go. ''Well since you're ok with it I guess its fine.''

Her smirk seemed to slowly change into a gentle smile as she rubbed her arm and looked to the side. ''Who knows, maybe one day they won't just be rumors.''

I wanted to ask what she meant by that but stopped as I saw a familiar white haired girl at the clubs entrance. ''Hey Shirou! I'm done with the shogi club, I'm waiting for you outside.''

''I'll be right there Momo.'' I replied loudly so she could hear me.

''First name basis already?'' Mitsuzuri commented as she looked at the bishop leave. A sly smile formed on her lips as she narrowed her eyes at me. ''I guess your bonding with the council girls faster than I thought.''

''Not really, Tomoe is insisting we try to deepen our bonds so she insisted we call each other by our given names.'' I explained as I checked my watch, noticing that I hanged around here more then I should.

''Sounds difficult.'' Mitsuzuri chuckled lightly.

I simply shrugged my shoulders. ''Pretty much, she gives us this really nasty stare when we don't do it so we pretty much have to get used to it.''

''Ouch, well good luck with that.'' She tapped me on the shoulder in a friendly manned, her eyes faltering and looking to the side. ''Although… it must feel nice to get called by your given name, it shows that the person saying it cares about you.''

Her reaction was certainly not one I saw from before, but it didn't seem very important to I decided to let it pass.

''Well... I still have clubs to check so I'll see you later.'' As I slowly made my way to the door I could hear her sigh in disappointment, which further confused me. Stopping in my tracks for a second I tried to really think about it for a second only to gain the urge to hit myself at my own ignorance. The two of us had known each other since middle school and yet I never really called her by her given name. When you think about it for a second it's weird to see a friend call people he knows for a short time by their given names while he still calls you by your family name. This could be interpreted like I don't consider her more of a friend than the others and she might be sadden by this.

With all of that in my mind I turned around and gave her a smile. ''Take care... Ayako.''

It was for a moment that she appeared stunned, unsure if what she just heard was real, but it lasted shortly. Her face immediately morphing into a bright smile. ''You too... Shirou.''

Huh... I never noticed before how pretty she is when she smiles like that.

* * *

''So how were the clubs you checked?'' I asked Momo as we walked through the campus.

She placed a finger on her lower lip as she looked to sky, a humming sound coming from her. ''Okay I guess, there weren't any budget problems nor were there any equipment ones. Though Kayaba the game development president is a bit of an eccentric guy to say the least. He kept going on and on about all kinds of complicated technical stuff and how he is currently developing the foundations for the first virtual reality MMORPG world. Whatever that hell that means anyway.''

''You don't say...'' I muttered as the idea of virtual reality kept playing in my head. The idea of creating a whole world is breath taking even if it's a fake one, almost like magic. Wait... magic is real... so I wonder if its possible to create a literal world by using magic?

Now that would be hax and broken on so many levels... hope I never have to deal with someone with that kind of power.

''Kyahh!'' the sudden influx of excited screams got my attention and made me look towards the source.

''It's Kiba-kun!''

''OMG! He just looked at me!''

''In your dreams! He was obviously looking at me!''

''And here I thought it was getting awfully quiet around here.'' I commented as I tried ignoring all the girls going full fan mode towards our academies own Prince Charming. After looking at him for a moment he seemed to take notice of me and offered me a smile. ''Hmm, I think he is coming towards us.''

''Shirou! Quick!'' The sudden shouting of Momo put me on the edge, mentally preparing myself for an incoming enemy, only to stop when the white haired bishop grabbed my head and turned me towards her. ''How does my hair look!?''

All the battle mentality went down the drain, it was quickly replaced by confusion as I stared at Momo. My mouth working on autopilot. ''F-Fine?''

She let go of my head and backup a little, turning back and forth in front me as she gestured to her clothes. ''Is my uniform wrinkled?!''

After a quick and awkward check I shook my head. ''No.''

Once again she invaded my personal space and pulled my face close to hers. ''Is my make-up all right?!''

I couldn't help but sweat drop at this. ''You're not wearing any make-up.''

She let go of me and kicked the ground in frustration. ''Dammit! I rushed to school and didn't had time to put any on!''

To say that I was confused by her behavior would had been an understatement. Coughing in my hand I asked. ''Is everything alright?''

She instantly turned around and threw me a harsh glare. ''Of course it isn't! Kiba-kun is seconds away and I don't look my best and I-'' She froze and dropped any sign of indignation and tension in the favor of a bright smile. ''O-Oh, good morning Kiba-kun.''

Turning myself around I saw the academies most popular male arrive in front of us.

''Morning Hanakai-san.'' He greeted the girl next to me with what many women would consider a sparkling smile. Now that he was up close I got a better look at him, and even I, a fellow male can admit that he is quite handsome. Immaculately cut short blonde hair adorned upon a charming face, not overly masculine, but with a certain amount of softness to it. Piercing grey eyes complemented by a small mole under his left eye. The overall demeanor he had was a warm and friendly one. ''Working hard as always?''

Glancing to the side I noticed that Momo was acting rather skittish, fumbling her fingers all while her cheeks were getting covered in a vibrant red. ''O-Oh just a few things here and there.''

The blonde's eyes changed his focus from Momo to me. ''A good morning to you too Emiya-san.''

My eyes widened all too slightly as I stared at him. ''You know me?''

''Of course, my master keeps tabs on all our students that are involved in the supernatural.'' He explained as he pointed out to the occult research club, a sly smile forming on his lips. ''But on a personal level, it would be odd not to know of Kuoh's Brownie.''

A sigh escaped my lips I rubbed the back of my head. ''Yeah... I really don't know who came up with that nickname.''

Kiba-san waved his hand gently and offered me a reassuring smile. ''It doesn't sound as bad as you think, I personally think it has a cute ring to it.''

''If you say so... anyway I know we are from different houses so to say, but let's get along.'' Although I found it a bit off to hear a guy call something like that cute, he seems like an overall nice guy so I stretched my hand offered a friendly handshake.

''Likewise.'' His smile increased as he accepted my handshake. ''Oh I wouldn't worry, our masters are old friends so the worst that could happen is get dragged down in one of their rivalry competitions.''

His eyes looked at our still touching hands and gave a small nod. ''I see, a fellow swordsman.''

As simple and easy going his comment was, I couldn't help but get confused by it. ''How can you tell?''

He used his hand to turn my palm upwards, gesturing to it. ''The skin on your palm, I can tell from it that you frequently do sword training. Judging by how it feels you are fairly new to it, but getting a steady understanding on how to wield the blade.''

I could only stare in amazement at the devil in front of me. ''Wow... that's awfully precise.''

''When you practice swordsmanship from a young age you tend to learn stuff like this.'' He laughed it off as he let go of my hand, raising his palms to show the worked skin on them, much more noticeable than my own. ''If I'm not too direct, would you mind telling me what kind of sword you use?''

For a moment I pondered if I should tell him or not, a part of me was considering that keeping your weapons secret is a proper action, but I decided to show a little kinship and satisfy his curiosity. ''I mostly rely on Chinese falchions, dual style, but I can manage with other types of swords from what I observed.''

He cupped his chin with his hand and hummed lightly. ''Chinese falchions you say, a rather exotic choice. I mostly go with European swords.''

I simply shrugged my shoulders. ''As long as you can win with them the place they originate from is irrelevant in my opinion.''

''A fair point.'' He admitted as he let go of his chin. ''By the way, my master didn't mention what piece you were reincarnated as, are you also a knight?''

Although I felt a little bad not being up to his expectation I shook my head as I answered. ''Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm a pawn.''

''A shame, it would have been refreshing to have a fellow male knight around, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.'' He checked his watch for a moment before he let out a small sigh. ''Sorry, but it seems I'm running a bit late. Well, I'll see you two on some other occasion, maybe we could spar some time Emiya-san.''

''That doesn't sound so bad.'' I admitted as I watched him walk away.

''Bye.'' He waved and smiled as he left.

After looking at him walk away I couldn't help but be a little intrigued. I guess I've been spending too much time near Saji as I mentally was staring to think all male devils are like him. I know it's a stupid way if thinking, but he is the only male devil I know... or that was until now I guess. ''That was the first I talked to him now that I think about it, he seems like a nice guy. What do you think Momo?''

When I turned around to look at I almost bit my tongue from the intense glare she was directing towards me, a dark aura present around her. ''Oh, how should I know since someone, I won't say who, was hogging him all to himself and didn't give others a chance to talk.''

Okay... just what was that all about?

Normally she is always in a good mood, this being the first time I saw her really pissed at something.

 ** _''Are you for real now? You mean you didn't notice it?''_** Archer's sudden intervention got my attention.

 _Notice what?_

 ** _''You saw how she started panicking when the guy walked towards her, how she was fidgeting and was stuttering when she was talking to him, the way her cheeks were beet red when he smiled at her, the scowl and visible annoyance when she didn't get to talk to the guy. What does all of that mean to you?''_**

 _...Is she sick?_

 ** _''... I'm not sure who is more stupid in this conversation, you for not getting it or me for trying to get it through that thick skull of yours.''_** If the exaggerated sigh was any indication he was clearly not enjoying this talk. ** _''Fine I'll spell it out for you. The girl has a crush on that guy, and I mean a really big one.''_**

 _Are you sure that's it? Maybe she is a little shy around other boys._

 ** _''Why don't you just ask her, I'm sure she would be just thrilled to answer.''_** The tone of his voice was rather annoying but there seemed to be some merit in his idea.

 _''Hmm... Eh, why not.''_

 ** _''Wait, what?''_** I ignored the sudden shock in his voice and proceeded forward.

''Say Momo, do you like Kiba-san by any chance?'' I asked the white haired bishop who was still pouting.

 **' _'I was being sarcastic you damn moron! You don't just ask a girl stuff like that out of the blue! There's no way she is will answer a question like that!''_**

''Eh?!'' Momo choked on air as her face turned red like a tomato, blue eyes turning awkwardly to the side to avoid mine. ''I-Is it that obvious?''

Before I could reply I stopped as I heard the sound of a palm hitting something. ' ** _'... Okay that does it. I'm going to take a nap and get rid of this migraine.''_**

Ignoring Archers complaints I focused on the girl in front of me. ''So... I'm right, you like him.''

''I guess.'' She admitted in a bashful tone. ''I always found him handsome and attractive, but never talked to him. It was after I became a devil that the two of us started to talk, from devil related stuff to small talk and it all just made me like him even more. The way he smiles and talks just makes my heart skip a beat and I just want to scream.''

Well it seems she is head over heel for him as the old saying goes, but this raises an interesting question. ''Have you tried asking him out?''

Her head turned around in a flash, eyes wide open from shock. ''Are you joking!? There's no way he will we go out with a girl like me.''

''Why would you say that?'' I asked confused to why she would say that.

A sigh escaped her lips as she pressed her finger against her forehead. ''The guy gets like a love declaration every day and he always kindly refuses each and every one of them, many of those girls being far more beautiful and attractive than me.''

To see her have such low esteem about herself wasn't something pleasant to look at. She may not be the most gorgeous girl I ever met, but she is quite beautiful, but if looks won't do the trick, then maybe her personality will. ''Isn't that thinking a bit shallow?''

She tilted her head confused as she stared in my eyes. ''What do you mean?''

''Well, I literally have zero experience when it comes to stuff like this, but perhaps he is looking for more than just looks in a girl?'' I tried elaborating, trying to look at things for a technical perspective. ''Maybe he would prefer a girl he gets along with rather than a girl who is all looks but he barely knows anything about.''

I took a moment and pointed to the groups of girls in the vicinity who still had star struck expressions from when Kiba-san passed. ''So, I think that you may have a higher chance than most of those girls who don't get to know the guy first before confessing.''

Awkward silence.

That was all I was receiving from the white haired girl in front of me as she stared at me as if I had grown a pair of metal wings or something. After about a minute of such reaction she finally made a new action, which was slapping her hands on her cheeks, rather strong might I add.

''Holy shit, you're right...'' She muttered as she was slowly reverting back from her stunned form. I could have sworn I saw flames burning in her eyes as she raised her fist to the sky and declared resolute. ''All right! I'll do it!''

Next thing I knew she was gone, only a cloud of dust left where she stood. Before I could even open my mouth to say anything she instantly run back to me and placed her hands on my shoulders, showing me her bright smile. ''Thanks a lot Shirou! I tell you later how it went!''

And like that she ran off again… I could only stare in amazement. Scratching the back of my head, I couldn't help but comment. ''Huh... guess those soap operas Iri made me watch with her weren't a total waste of time.''

''That was awfully sweet of you Shirou.''

I turned around and gazed at the person behind me, her braids waving slowly in the gentle wind breeze. ''You think so Reya?''

The team's second bishop offered me a kind smile in response. ''Why yes, most of the boys here would do the opposite and try to convince a girl to give up on Kiba-kun and be there to console her, thinking they might have a chance with her.''

I couldn't help but cringe a little at this. ''Seriously? I know some of the guys here are rather jealous of guys like Kiba-san, but would they really try to take advantage of girls like that?''

''I admit it doesn't sound too nice, but I've seen it happen quite often.'' She let out a small sigh as she walked next to me, one of her braids brushing against my shoulder. ''That's why I'm happy you were encouraging Momo like that.''

Seeing her smile like certainly made me a bit odd. ''I only did what I thought was the right choice.''

She closed her eyes and let out a small chuckle. ''I still think its sweet.''

As I stared at her I couldn't help but feel somewhat at ease. ''You really care for her don't you?''

''Yeah, we got recruited around the same time and consumed the same pieces, so we always tried to work together and get along.'' She explained as we both began walking. ''Time went by and we became best of friends. She has this habit of keeping what bothers her to herself and tries to solve them by herself, but she is a good person and I want to see her happy.''

It was weird to say the least… I guess this is what empathizing with someone feels like. My eyes closed for a few seconds before a small smile formed on my lips. ''You're a good friend Reya.''

''Thank you.'' Her smile increased as her checks turned slightly red. ''Where are you off to now?''

A bit weird she was asking me now considering that she's been walking with me the entire time, but I decided to not comment at it. ''The kendo club.''

She raised her hand and pointed to herself. ''Mind if I tag along?''

I nodded with a smile. ''Be my guest.''

* * *

''So is there anything else that needs our attention?'' I asked the captain of the kendo club as I finished noting down the main problems. Some of which consisted of getting approval to place an electrified fence around the locker rooms. As to why they would even think of making such a ridiculous request was not my place to ask.

Murayama the captain of the kendo club cupped her chin as she began wondering what else needs to be addressed. ''Well some of our members have been complaining that some of our equipment have been deteriorating. Also our heater has been barely working.''

The one who stepped into the discussion was the vice-captain of the club, Katase if I'm not mistaken. ''I know budget is a bit tight, but we won't be able to use our equipment for long before it gives up and we are left without any proper equipment.''

Those were valid points they had, while its true a club can't really function without a budget, it would be the same if a club such as the kendo club lacked equipment. Before I could give some proper explanation it seemed that Reya beat me to the bush and apologized instead. ''I'm sorry, but we can't do anything about new equipment. It's as you said, budget is restricted and if we gave you more than other clubs, people might not take it well and say we are doing favoritism for the kendo club.''

Both of the kendo practitioners nodded in defeat, their eyes staring in at the floor. ''... I see.''

Seeing them look down like that didn't feel right with me so I stepped in with a solution. ''I might have an alternative.''

Both girls lifted their heads and look curiously at me, Murayama speaking for them. ''Such as?''

''I can repair your equipment. It might not be as good as new, but it would be good enough to last until the school renews it along the equipment for the other clubs.''

''That's actually a good idea.'' Katasa nodded hopefully, only for a uncertain look to form on her face. ''But there's quite a bit of equipment that needs maintenance. Are you sure you are fine with it, won't it be too much to handle?''

I nodded as I gave them a small thumbs up. ''Its fine. Even if it's a bit of work to do, if I can help someone in need it's worth it.''

The two girls appeared unsure of what to say, the two of the turning and looking at each other for a moment before giving a nod. ''If you're okay with it, I guess its fine.''

Just as I was about to ask until when they need the equipment repaired, a collective scream of young girls echoed throw the halls of the kendo club.

Imagining that something serious has happened I was about to dash and check it out, only to be stopped by Reya who had half closed eyes and a disappointed expression on her face. I didn't get to ask why she stopped me as she simply pointed to the two kendo girls behind me. When I looked at them I couldn't help but take an involuntary step backwards.

The bodies of the two girls were now emanating a dark sinister aura, their eyes glinting in an unholy light as they both grabbed their shinai and made their way outside. For some unknown reason this scene felt unusually familiar, making me think about tigers of all things.

''Those fuckers again!'' Katase muttered under her breath as she caressed the end of her weapon.

Murayama turned around and offered us a gentle smile which was completely out of place considering the bloodthirsty look in her eyes. ''Excuse us, but we have some teeth to break.''

Staring was the only thing could do in such a situation. Far too scared to ask what's going on. On a serious note though… I can fight supernatural beings without as much as blinking and yet women that shouldn't be able to harm me in battle always find a way to scare me.

''Should we check it out?'' Reya asked, clearly uncertain of what to do.

I just rolled my eyes and looked dryly at her. ''Would you just sit and ignore those pain filled screams?''

''…You make a good point.''

* * *

After walking for about a minute or so we made our way outside the kendo club right to the source of trouble, which was pretty easy to find if you take in account the screams. When we arrived to the source of the mayhem we walked on the entire kendo beating up three boys from our school, all three tied together.

''This is all your fault!'' The one with brown hair cried towards his fellow prisoners.

''Shit! Not in the face! Not in the face!'' The one with the shaved head begged the aggressors in vain.

''Mercy!'' The one with glassed screamed in agony.

After getting a better look at them I started speculating why they were getting the living shit out of them. They were the infamous Perverted trio of Kuoh's Academy. From left to right, the one with glasses is Motohama, otherwise known as the Perverted Glasses, next to him is Matsuda, otherwise known as the Perverted Baldy, and last but not least the one with brown hair is Issei Hyoudou, the most famous of the three known for openly stating his dream of wanting a harem.

All three of them are known throughout the campus as the most perverted male students enrolled at the moment, all three of them having quite the history with getting caught peeking on fellow female students.

While I don't have a thing against being a pervert, I wish they can keep it in their pants. Most guys from what I observed have certain preferences and fetishes when it comes to the opposite sex, but they mostly keep it to themselves and might bring it up to ones of their guy talks, when there aren't any women around. Saji for one does stuff like this with me when the girls of the council aren't around, always going 'Hey Emiya! Check the legs on that girl over there!' or 'Shit Emiya! Did you see the bazoongas on that chick?!'' and other stuff that might be interpreted as sexual harassment.

These three however are too outspoken when it comes to stuff like that and would probably list off their favorite gravure idols and adult actresses in alphabetical order if someone asked them. Which, from what I noticed seems to creep out women quite strongly.

How lucky I am to be in a different class then these guys are in.

While I know I'm just running in circles, I decided to step in. ''Why are you beating them up?''

''We caught them peeking at us! Again!'' The kendo club all shouted in union.

Huh… Was it Wednesday already?

With a tired sigh I rubbed the back of my head and pointed towards the tied up boys. ''So you decided to beat them up?''

Many of the girls scoffed at that, one of them pressing her shinai against Hyoudou's throat. ''What else can we do since these pigs keep peeking on us?!''

I narrowed my eyes at them, a small scowl forming on my face. ''Has doing that had any result?''

Some of them flinched at me, others tried standing up to me. ''W-Well not really, but you can't just except us to just sit and let-''

I cut her off instantly with another remark. ''Aren't you just getting rid of your anger on them?''

''I-It's not that, we are just-''

Raising my hand and pointing my finger to some of the girls in the ground, I further narrowed my eyes. ''Then what were those slight smiles and glints in your eyes when you were bashing your shinai's in them?''

''Dammit I told you to stop smiling when you-'' Katase seemed to reprimand her fellow kendo practitioners, only to pale as she realized she was the one that just screwed up. ''... Shit.''

''I rest my case.'' I commented as I made my way towards the tied up boys, kneeling next to them as I threw the girls a concerned look. ''Anyway beating them won't really do much good. There are alternative ways to convince a person to change his ways.''

Murayama for one didn't seem that convinced if the way she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me was any indication. ''Such as?''

After taking a second to consider my options even, if I did offer some logical and practical answer I'm fairly sure it won't quell the anger these girls have for the three perverts next to me. With that in mind I tried finding a way to make them back down peacefully. The only thing I could come up with at the moment was to emulate the look my master does when Saji and I dun goofed.

A second passed as I let her particular look form on my face, the girls around me flinching on spot. ''I'm not sure at the moment, but I will inform our competent president. I'm sure we can all agree that she can be very inventive when it comes to dealing punishments towards students.''

The captain of the kendo club could only stare with sweat bullets on her face as she couldn't find the power to retort. ''…Fine their all yours.''

''Thank you.'' I let my demeanor return to normal, giving the captain and vice-captain a small smile. ''I will come back at some other time and deal with the equipment problem.''

''Please do.'' Murayama nodded lightly as she turned around and gestured to her club members. ''Come on girls, let's get out of here before we get something from those pervs.''

After they all were gone I couldn't help but let out a tired sigh, glancing towards Reya who watched the show without stepping in at all. ''That went surprisingly well.''

Talk about stating the obvious, but she was right. ''I'm honestly surprised it did, most of the stuff I said I just came up on the spot.''

I turned around and looked at the three boys who were staring at me in disbelief. While it probably was common sense to scold them with big and long speech concerning what they did, I decided to just untie them and keep it short. ''Well since that is done and those girls already did a number on you guys, I will only let you off with a warning so stop peeking.''

The moment the ropes were undone the three of them stood up and glared at me. Matsuda pointing his finger at me. ''Screw you! Just because you helped us doesn't give you any right to tell us what to do!''

''Exactly! Just because you're handsome and popular doesn't make you better than us!'' Motohama nodded violently in agreement.

Oh wow, who saw that one coming?

For some reason I already knew that they won't appreciate my help, but I didn't think they would react like I was the bad guy here. Reya for one seemed to take offence for their behavior. ''Now that's just rude. He helps you out and you react like this, it just shows what kind of character you boys have.''

Matsuda and Motohama both sucked their teeth and walked away. ''Let's go guys, staying around him kills my day.''

Although both of the boys turned and walked away, the third one didn't move. Hyoudou who up until now was silent was giving me a mixed look.

Again I didn't get to ask as Reya beat me to it. ''Got anything else to say?''

He continued to stare at me before he scoffed annoyed and finally spoke. ''I don't like guys like you. You and that Kiba are on my top 'Guys I can't stand in this school' list.''

He turned and walked away annoyed. After a few steps he stopped in his tracks for a couple of seconds, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he turned it around. ''…But I guess you're not all bad, so thanks for saving my butt back there.''

Huh… to think just a few words can change a person opinion about another. Perhaps I'm simply far too gullible, but maybe, just maybe, there's more to Hyoudou than just a pervert. There still may be hope for him.

Perhaps it's because I'm a devil, or maybe I just have a natural good hearing, but I heard what the boys were discussing in the distance. ''Hey guys I recently found a new peeking place at the archery club locker room. Let's check it on.''

''You're on!'' Hyoudou agreed with his fellow perverts.

Yep… and just like that my hope of rehabilitation for Hyoudou and perverts all over the world has gone down the drain.

''Can you believe those guys Shirou?! They just got off the hook for peeking and not five minutes later they're at it again.'' Reya uncharacteristic annoyance was showing just how big her distaste for perverts is, which I can somehow understand at this very moment. She stared confused at me as I didn't say anything and just stared at the perverts walk away. ''Shirou?''

My eye was twitching violently as I understood just what it meant if they went and peaked in the Archery clubs locker-room, or more exactly WHO they will be peaking in the locker-room. I tried to keep the sudden impulse to just go and stop them in check and reached for my phone. Swapping through my my phone list I found who I was looking for and pressed the call button.

While waiting for the other side to pick up I kept tapping my foot on the ground stopping only when I heard the phone connect. ''Hey Mitsuzuri.''

'' [Huh? Back to Mitsuzuri already? And here I thought we were making progress.]'' Perhaps her teasing tone would have bothered me in any normal circumstances, but right now it's overshadowed by the lividness coursing through me. ''[Jokes aside, did you forget something?]''

''Not exactly...'' I replied as my eyes drifted to the side. ''Say do you have your training naginata in the clubs storage by any chance?''

''[Yeah, I do, why do you ask?]''

Small smirk ran across my face when I heard that. ''I know this will sound a bit odd, but could you go behind the changing room in about three minutes. Oh, and bring your naginata, you will need it.''

The silence I was receiving at the other side of the line was a clear indication of how weird this was sounded. '' [...Why?]''

I rubbed the bridged of my nose and sighed. ''Trust me, you will know in three minutes.''

''[Ok, fine.]''

As I closed my phone I turned back to Reya who was looking at me with surprised eyes. ''Wow... that was equally smart as it was diabolic Shirou. You could have stopped them yourself couldn't you?''

''I thought about doing that, but then again they don't seem to learn no matter the amount of ramifications or detention they get. I'm honestly surprised that with the number of sexual harassment acts they have under their belts that they haven't been kicked out of school by now.''

''That's one of the seven mysteries of Kuoh Academy.'' She chuckled lightly as she tip toed next to me. Taking a better look of my face. ''What's surprising me is even though you stopped the kendo girls from beating them, you just encouraged Mitsuzuri-san to do it instead. There's a bit of hypocrisy there.''

In my defense I could have done much worse, I could have told Ayako to get her bow and arrows, but that would be a bit overkill even for perverts like them, then again Reya does seem to make a fair point. ''Guess I'm a hypocrite sometimes.''

She playfully elbowed me in the ribs and laughed gently. ''Just a bit, but you make up for it with your other qualities.''

I stared a bit at her, there was something I felt was amiss in what she said but I let it slide. ''... Perhaps.''

''Come on we still have clubs to check.''

* * *

''AHHHHHHHHHHH!''

It seemed my calculations were off by a minute, but needless to say, the screams were heard throughout the whole campus.

Yep, just another normal day in Kuoh Academy.

* * *

''Well that's about it. All that's left is the swimming club.'' I commented as I marked another one of clubs off the list. ''Now I know why everyone keeps complaining about the budget, there are too many damn clubs!''

I mean seriously, it's obvious that with the more clubs we have the budget gets smaller and smaller. If they were regular clubs I would understand, but some of them are just a waste in my opinion. That, and for some reason each club president seems to eccentric in its own way. Like Okabe of the science club.

''I think you did enough for one day Shirou.'' Reya commented as she took the list out of my hand. ''I'll go check it out, so you go and relax a little.''

''It's no big deal, I can check it for you.'' I replied as I tried taking back the list, only for Reya to put it behind her back.

A small smile crept on her face. ''It's okay.''

I tried not backing down. ''But I-''

Her smile just grew and started scaring me. ''I said its okay.''

My senses were telling me that this was a similar situation to the couple arguments that my mom and dad have, the kind that always end with Iri winning. Always! ''... Fine.''

With a small spin she turned around walked, waving gently towards me. ''See you at the office.''

The only thing I could do at the moment was wave back nervously. I swear it's like I'm a magnet for women that I can't win an argument against. For some unknown reason I wondered how my life would look if I was married to that kind of woman...

Nope, I think I prefer life and death battles over dealing with that kind of stuff.

Shoving those thoughts aside I stared taking a stroll around campus. After a quick glance to my watch I decided to take it slow since I had time to spare. Guess Sona was right, working together like this does save time and energy.

My eyes narrowed as I saw a glimpse of white on one of the school rooftops, a quick reinforcement of my eyes allowed me to take a much closer and detailed look of who it was. My suspicions were right, it was Momo, and right next to her was Kiba-san. I knew she said that she was going to confess to him, but I didn't think she was serious about doing it this fast.

A part of me was concerned for her. Not because I had a bad impression of the boy she liked, but rather what would happen if he didn't reciprocate her feelings. Hope I'm just being paranoid.

With that in mind I made my way to the rooftop, in a silent manner so I don't get any attention from any other students. When I arrived there the Gremory knight was already gone and Momo was just resting against the fence on the roof, overlooking at campus, an air of melancholy surrounding her.

After about a minute of staring and contemplating I decided to step in, slowly walking towards her. To my surprised I was already behind her and she has yet to notice me. With a tired shrug I tapped her on the shoulder. ''Momo?''

''Kyah!'' Obviously the sudden contact scared her out of her skin. Her eyes calming down when she turned around and saw just who it was. ''Oh, it's you Shirou...''

''I saw you were talking to Kiba-san.'' I explained as took a quick look at her face, her eyes were swollen and red, it didn't take a genius to realize that she was crying up until now. ''Did anything happen?''

''Yeah...'' she muttered as she bashfully turned around. ''I followed your advice and confessed to him.''

Perhaps I was rubbing salt on the wound with this question but I still asked her. ''What did he say?''

''He turned me down...'' A long heavy pause followed. ''We talked a bit... apparently he did find me a beautiful and a pleasant presence to be around but he didn't feel that way about me, and that he isn't looking for any relationship at the moment.''

''I see...'' I muttered somewhat ashamed, it was me after all that told her to do it, indirectly causing her to go through this. ''Are you going to be okay?''

She put her hands forwards and waved them, and strained smile present on her face. ''Yeah... I 'm a bit down, but I'm fine.''

I didn't buy it.

It was obvious even to me that she wasn't fine. Also, if I take in consideration what Reya told me earlier about Momo... yeah no way I'm letting this go by.

''Don't keep it in you.'' I told her gently as I placed my hands on her shoulders, receiving a surprised look from her. After a few awkward moments of staring in her blue eyes I slowly let go and turned around, scratching my cheek bashfully. ''What do you say we go to home economics class and make you some cookies?''

I wasn't expecting her to answer immediately, and so I waited. After about a minute of silence she managed to mutter under her breath. ''C-Can you make them triple chocolate?''

''Sure thing.'' I nodded as I kept myself from looking at her, allowing her to let it go and get rid of the tears.

* * *

''Glad to see you're among the living again Saji.'' I greeted my fellow pawn as I walked through the halls. It took a few hours, but Momo seemed to start feeling better and went to meet up with Reya. I heard before that people sometimes eat out of depression but that was the first time I saw it with my own two eyes, she was munching on those cookies like there was no tomorrow, had to even make a second batch.

Saji smiled weakly at me, his face pale white and eyes without any light in them. He also seemed to have lost a lot of weight somehow. ''I-It's good to be back. I struggled getting that cake out of my system but I'm better now. Man it was so bad I ended up shitting cubes.''

I rolled my eyes at his reply and couldn't help but nit-pick at it. ''I think the expression you are looking for is shitting bricks.''

He waved a trembling hand at me. ''No, I mean I literally shit cubes. I don't know what she put in that cake, but it ended up as perfect solid cube when it came out.''

My eyes unfortunately couldn't resist the urge to cringe at that. ''I honestly don't know how I am supposed to reply at that.''

The blonde next to me shivered and sighed in pain. ''Let's forget it, my ass hurts whenever I remember.''

Good call, the pain is also reaching me, but in my case it's a headache.

We both continued our way to the council room, meeting up with Momo and Reya on the way. Together the four of us arrived to our base of operation, only to find my master and Tsubaki-senpai both with worried expressions, while Ruruko, Tomoe and Tsubasa appeared similarly confused to what was going on. I raised my hand and ask the moment they took notice of me. ''What's up with this tension around?''

The king of our peerage leaned backwards in her hair and arranged her glasses, a busyness like seriousness present around her. ''While you were busy with your assignments, I received a call and was informed that we will receive a visit from a certain individual from the underworld.''

''Did something happened?'' I asked her as I took a nearby seat, the tone of her voice was what I found odd, there was a certain irritation in it that was uncharacteristic of her.

As she got up from her seat she crossed her arms and walked next to the window behind her seat, seemingly gazing outside. ''It's a personal matter that's been bothering me for quite a while and we're meeting to talk and try to solve it.''

Something was certainly off, that much I could tell by her overall tone and body language, no doubt this meeting isn't something simple or casual. ''When is the visit going to take?''

She opened her mouth to answer but stopped as a powerful light manifested in the middle of the room. In the center of it all was a magic circle similar to the one used by us, only this was seaweed green and the mark in the center was different to the one of the Sitri clan. My master's eyes narrowed and grew extremely cold as she stared at the figures emerging from the circle. ''Now.''

As the light down two people stepped out of circle and scanned the room. The first one was a young woman with short black hair and matching black eyes. Her physique was hard to scan as she was wearing a baggy grey cloak, however that seemed to take second place in comparison to the black facial markings right under her eyes which were quite intriguing, highlighting her middle-east features.

My hand tightened in a fist the moment I saw the face of the person sitting right in front of the woman, a man in his early twenties with curly black hair and gray blue eyes. His clothes had a somewhat Victorian nobility air to them, but one could tell at first glance that they were made with the finest materials you could find and probably cost more than you can afford. The way he stood with a somewhat arrogant smile made me realized that out of the two, he was the important one, while the woman was someone of lower status, a servant perhaps.

What truly bothered me about all of this wasn't the sudden drop the two of them did, but rather the feeling I had when I first saw the man. Like a sudden impulse... one that screamed I punch him in the teeth with all my strength, reinforcement included. Not sure which it was to be honest... the smell of butchered beasts coming from him or his face itself.

The man smiled as he stepped forward, the air or superiority he was giving of was so thick I could have cut it with a knife. He gave a court nod to our master as he spoke. ''So we finally meet again Sona.''

My master on the other hand seemed uninterested, and if the way she was glaring at the man was any indication she really didn't enjoy looking at him, let alone talk. It was like was staring at the one food she hated with all her might and was forced to eat it. ''Unfortunately.''

I didn't notice it but the others, with the exception of Tsubaki-senpai, all grouped up next me, just as confused about this whole thing as I was. Reya was the one address the elephant in the room and ask in a whisper. ''Do any of you guys have any idea what's going on?''

It was Ruruko that spoke for the ones that were here in the room before us. ''Not sure, we arrived minutes before you guys did and weren't told too many details.''

We were all out of the loop here, and it seemed that Saji decided to get some answers. ''Um Kaichou, who is this guy?''

''How rude.'' The woman in the cloak remarked, cold eyes locked on our teams blond paw. ''It would seem you have ignored to inform your servants about your relation with my master, Sona-sama.''

This certainly was enough to surprise everyone around me, I also wasn't an exception. Saji for one was the most shocked one by how his mouth hanged and his eyes were bulging. ''R-R-Relation?! What do you mean by relation?!''

''Ignorance is a bliss as they say.'' The woman commented as she narrowed her eyes at our group's former delinquent.

''Give it a rest Shahnaz.'' the man has finally decided to speak, an amused smile present as he looked at the student council president. ''It's quite obvious that Sona has been keeping things discreet, something I would expect nothing less from her.''

''Perhaps introductions are in order.'' The woman named Shahnaz stepped forward and extended her arm towards the man. ''Allow me to present you my master, the first son of the Zepar house and current heir, Segrif Zepar.'' She stopped for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she made sure we all were looking at her master. ''But more importantly, the current fiancée of Sona Sitri.''

''Fiancée?!'' the rest of the Sitri peerage shouted in shock to the revelation, with Saji as the main lead voice.

The man revealed as Segrif smile arrogantly as he walked past us without giving us any importance, stopping in front of my master. ''Why don't we sit down and talk my dear Sona.''

* * *

To say that this situation was a drag would be an understatement. We all took a seat on the side while Kaichou and her so called fiancée took seat at the small coffee table in the middle of the room, both Tsubaki-senpai and Shahnaz-san standing behind their respective masters.

The man's eyes were carefully scanning the room, a condescending smile present on his face. ''So this is the school you are attending... must say, it looks quite poor to be honest, but considering this is a human school I should lower my expectations.''

Oh boy... if there was one thing Sona took pride in, that would be our school. Speaking ill of it probably feels like a slap to her face. I took a quick glance to her and swallowed nervously, while her face didn't show it, I could tell by how she was glaring at the man that she was pissed. ''Not all schools are on the same level as the ones high class devils attend in the underworld. While it may not appear as eye catching compared with what you are used to, the value of the students is beyond what you can imagine.''

''I see you're taking the role student council president with an impressive dedication.'' The devil shrugged his shoulders tiredly, his smile getting replaced by a serious scowl. ''However, Sona its time you stop playing around with humans and assume your duty as the Sitri heir.''

She didn't show any visible reaction, just crossed her arms under her chest and looked skeptical at him. ''I'm sorry but I don't see what you are referring to, because last time I checked I have been taking care of my responsibilities as heir with utmost care.''

The Zepar heir narrowed his eyes dangerously at my master. ''You don't say... then why have you been ignoring all my letters and calls?''

Well this was interesting to say the least. From what I read about the devil society, it's an aristocrat one, so arranged marriages are pretty common among the nobility and people with high status. Common yes, but it doesn't mean that most people are okay with them, and from what I can deduce by the interactions between them up until now, my master is dead set against the idea of marrying this guy.

''Was there any reason for me to answer them?'' She asked as she arranged her glasses. ''I'm not obligated to converse with people I find distasteful.''

The slight twitch in his eye was enough to tell that he was pissed, but only responded with a scoff. ''There you go again, acting all high and rebellious towards me. Haven't you already understood that even if you like it or not you still are going to marry me? Even though it will happen after you graduate that, that doesn't mean you can simply ignore my existence, so instead of acting cold towards me, the smart choice is get to know me better and grow closer, it will help our relationship if we are proactive.''

She narrowed her eyes coldly at him in response. ''I'm certain I know enough about you to decide that I don't want to be associated with you, let alone marry you.''

He crossed his arms and smiled arrogantly at her. ''Cold as always, but it's not like you can just cancel our engagement. It was made by our parents before we were out of our baby cribs, so it wouldn't matter if both of us were against it.''

At this a small smile formed on her lips, the kind that screamed 'I know something that you don't'. ''I wouldn't be so sure about that.''

''Pardon?'' He tilted his head in confusion, one that I actually shared.

She waved her hand to the side and a stack of papers appeared from a magic circle, placing said papers in front of her so called fiancée. ''I'm talking about this.''

Raising an eyebrow skeptically, he picked up the papers and proceeded to read through them. Each passing moment seemed to get on his nerves, his features hardening as he was done reading. ''Is this a joke?''

The bespectacled devil simply waved her hand, a smile present on her face, one that I could tell was fake. ''Not at all, it's a clause found in the marriage contract made by our parents which states that if one of the marrying parties have any form of dissatisfaction or objection to the marriage they are allowed to challenge the opposite party and should they win the contract becomes invalid.''

Shifting slightly in his seat he gave a curious look to his fiancée. ''Challenge you say... So you want to settle this with a rating game I take it?''

This put me a little on the edge. Rating games in essence is a type of competition created a while after the development of the evil piece system. Interesting fact, apparently during the early day's high class devils were often bragging that their respective peerage was the strongest and such, often ending up in conflict with another one who claimed the same, and the peerages usually ended up fighting among themselves to prove their superiority, which often ended with injured and in the more extreme cases with death... just for the ego of their masters.

Putting complete ban to fighting among themselves would have been impossible, so in order to put a stop to this kind of conflicts while settling who the best was, the rating games were created. While they were just a means to settle different kind of disputes, these days they evolved so much that they became akin to a national sport of the underworld, winning them gives both political and financial advantages to the king and his peerage, but also it raises their popularity among the underworld media, heck from what I heard the top ten ranked Kings are like the Hollywood superstars of the underworld.

Getting back on track, rating games don't have a fix form or rules. There are different themes they can follow, some that can give advantage to a certain peerage, while others can screw them up really bad. That aside, it all comes down to the adaptability of the peerage and the strategic capabilities of the king. Even if you can't defeat the opposing peerage in direct combat, if you exploit the rules and the system of the game you can beat them even if you shouldn't be able by normal means.

The thing that bothers me however is the lack of information I have on the man in the room. Without any data on him or his peerage I'm not sure what to think about the prospects of fighting him.

A sly smile formed on my master's face. ''That is an option yes, but both me and my peerage are still inexperience when it comes to them, so I propose a different alternative?''

This got my attention as much as it did to Segrif, his eyebrow raising skeptically at what my master may offer instead. ''Such as?''

Pure unadulterated seriousness took over my master's face as she answered. ''Chess.''

''Chess?'' He blinked a few times, something which I also did.

''Chess.'' She nodded simply in confirmation.

Segrif seemed to take a moment and process all of this, eagerly massaging his temple. ''You are willing to bet your own future in a game of chess... sounds more reckless than facing me in a rating game where you are never certain what can happen. I don't know if I should laugh or pity you.''

''Call it whatever you wish, but it's my way of determining the worth of a man. On a personal level I don't have any particular taste in men, but I for one refuse to marry someone who isn't at least as intelligent as I am.''

Didn't know what to think about this... as much as I didn't want to, I had tended to agree with Segrif. Betting her future on a chess game is far too risky in my opinion. I do admit that I never beat my master in a chess match before, nor did I ever saw or heard of her to lose a game, still seems a bit reckless.

''Is that so...'' the heir of Zepar hummed to himself, his eyes suddenly widening as an annoyed expression took over his face. ''Wait a darn minute, are you insinuating that I'm not intelligent enough your for?!''

''Of course not, I'm just stating my conditions. By all means defeat me in a game of chess and prove me wrong, I won't have anything left to complain about.'' She explained gently, her fake smile beaming.

Wait.

Is my master attempting to trick him into accepting?

If this man knows how talented Sona Sitri is at chess, by all means he could just refuse and try to look for a more neutral game. He isn't obligated to accept, and has all the right to refuse if he doesn't find the odds in his favor.

However, from what I could notice from his behavior up until now, he seems quite prideful and arrogant. So if my master presses the right buttons she can make him lose his nerve and accept just so he can get the chance to get back at her.

Now what will he choose?

''... Very well.'' He commented with a scowl. Hook, line and sinker it seems.

While the master seemed to have already decided, his associate on the other hand seemed to be of a different opinion, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. ''Master, I'm not sure you should go on with this-''

He brushed her hand to the side brutishly, not bothering to even look at her. ''Hush Shahnaz, I often play chess at gatherings with my fellow pure-bloods and I am quite confident in my skills. This will be far easier and less annoying than a rating game.''

If for some odd reason I wanted before to punch the man, now I had genuine drive to do it considering how he was treating his companion, I'm surprised I didn't and managed to keep it together as I looked at how the cloaked woman rubbed the part of the hand that her master violently smacked, a mixture of defeat and contempt present on her face. ''... As you wish.''

The way the woman just let the whole hitting her slide like that... it just rubbed the wrong way with me, and seemed like I wasn't the only one annoyed by this man's behavior, Saji for one looked like he was about to go and head-butt him in the teeth, while the girls were giving him glares that could drill holes in his head. The only reason why no one said or did anything was because Tsubaki-senpai gestured to us to stay put and not make a scene.

Huh, easier said than done.

''When do we begin?'' he asked as he shifted in his seat.

''Not so fast.'' Sona raised her hand up, while she used her opposing one to arrange her glasses. ''Since this is an official game with high stakes it requires a third party to act as witness.''

He slightly nodded as he began rubbing his chin. ''Do you have someone in mind or should I recommend someone?''

''I do in fact.'' An impish smile formed on her lips as she took out her phone and dialed, after a minute or so of waiting the person on the other side answered. ''Sorry for calling on such short notice, but do you think you can spare half an hour and come to my school?''

I couldn't hear what the person on the phone was saying, but judging by the nodding and overall fine look on my master's face, I assumed things were okay. ''Great, we are waiting.''

''Who did you call for?'' the Zepar heir asked curiously, a feeling that I also shared.

''An old friend.'' She stated simply as she crossed her legs.

I would have wondered who she could be referring to, but I brushed that thought aside as a new magic circle formed in the room. This one was a deep azure blue, similar to the one used by my master, however this one had a different symbol within the center. As the light died down a man appeared.

Tall.

That was my first thought as I took notice of him. Probably around six feet and five inches, which by Japanese standards is freaking huge. Impressive height aside, the rest of him was just as impressive and eye-catching.

Neck length black hair perfectly combed and styled, featured together with a pair of scarlet eyes, a deeper shade compared to the one Illya and the others home had, and underneath them he sported a perfectly trimmed van dyke beard. He was wearing a butler style suit, perfectly sitting upon his toned frame, not even a trace of lint or wrinkle present on it, matched with a pair crisp white gloves and a pair of polished black shoes that seemed to shine at the faintest ray of light.

A bright and gentle smile was radiating on his face as he stepped forward, not even a trace of arrogance or superiority present in his eyes, a fresh air compared to how the heir of Zepar sported himself. The man closed his eyes and gave a half bow to the people in the room, his eyes opening and landing towards the king of our peerage. ''It would seem you are in quite the pinch Sona.''

My master nodded as she got up and walked in front of the man. ''Rather than a pinch I would call it an obnoxious formality.''

''You don't say.'' The man nodded slightly as he knelled on one leg and took my masters hand, giving her a soft gentleman kiss on the back of her hand. I tried to ignore the sudden choking sound from Saji and the fan girl gasp from the girls. ''Well, what can this old man do for you?''

''Nothing difficult, just act as a judge of our game and make sure it upholds to the proper rules and no cheating of any form takes place.''

''I understand. Then with my authority as the Sitri households head butler I will see it so this match takes place without any problems.'' He nodded as he got up, his eyes landing at the opponent Sona will soon face, a new smile flashing on the butlers face, however it had a hint of danger to it. ''That won't be any problem, will it Segrif-sama?''

''N-None at all.'' He muttered in a respectful manner, one that was overshadowing the tense sensation he was feeling towards the butler.

Now this was interesting, up until now he was acting with this sense of superiority and arrogance with us, and look he shrunk down when the butler stepped in. Glancing to the side, I saw that his companion was also disturbed by the appearance of the butler. ''I-I wasn't expecting you to call him of all people.''

While these two seemed bothered by the man, some of the other people from our side seemed just as confused as I was, Saji in particular seemed lost and raised his hand. ''Umm Kaichou, who is he?''

''You don't recognize him?'' Shahnaz-san commented with genuine disbelieve on her face as she stared at blond pawn. ''You must have been recently reincarnated...''

Sona seemed to ignore Saji's under breath grumbling towards the cloak wearing woman and decided to shed some light to the confused individuals in the rooms. ''For those of you who don't know him, this man is my sister's pawn and head butler of the Sitri house.''

As per queue the man bowed respectfully to us, a friendly smile radiating on his handsome face. ''Vincent Ronové, at your service. It's a pleasure to meet all you, I hope Sona has been treating you well.''

I didn't give it much attention before, but this Vincent seems to be on good terms with my master, the way he is casually addressing to her without any form of honorific show that they have a bit of history together, add the fact that he is the pawn of her sister only strengthens this idea.

''He is also known as the Ultimate Pawn.'' The heir of Zepar commented with a half-hearten tone, one that didn't go unnoticed by the butler.

He smiled with closed eyes back at the black haired king, something which made him flinch slightly. ''While I appreciate the thought, I prefer leaving that part for the occasions where I have to intimidate someone.''

''It's been a while since I last saw some of you.'' The smile still radiated on his face as he arranged his tuxedo and walked in the middle of the Sitri peerage, his eyes navigating between me and Saji. ''I take it these two gentlemen are your new pawns?''

Sona only gave a small nod, which was enough for the man in front of us. ''I was a surprised when Sona finally got herself two male pieces, in all honesty I couldn't believe it but now that I see it with my own eyes I can't help but be at ease.'' He offered us a handshake together with a reassuring smile. ''As a fellow pawn if you are ever in need for advice feel free to rely on me.''

Both Saji and I could only stare at the man, he certainly wasn't what we could have expected from the pawn of a Satan. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but if he was some kind scarred, intimidating warrior I would just let it go without any more comments, but here this man is probably the biggest gentleman I have ever met. ''Ehem, presentations.''

''Oh right, sorry.'' Our master's sudden coughing broke me and Saji out of our thoughts, the other male pawn of the group steeping up first and accepting the man's handshake. ''I'm Saji Genshirou, nice to you.''

''Likewise.'' He then let go and offered me the same handshake, which I reciprocated. ''And you are?''

''Emiya Shirou.'' I responded with respect to the man.

The moment I said my name there was a twitch in his hand, his grip becoming vice-like for a second, his eyes narrowing in curiosity, yet his smile hasn't vanished. ''Emiya... as in Emiya Kiritsugu?''

There was sudden feeling of being cornered that was surging through me, like a small animal backed to a wall by a large predator. I took a deep breath and made sure to not falter my eyes. ''He's my dad.''

''Is that so...'' He trailed as he let go, his eyes now focused on the sister of his master. ''Quite the intriguing young man you recruited Sona.''

She didn't seem affected by his remark and simply waved a hand to the side. ''I will give you details later, for now you should focus on being our judge.''

A nod and a small bow was his response. ''As you wish.''

I could only sigh as I looked at the butler, curiosity getting the better of me. ''Do you by any chance personally know my dad by any chance?''

''Something like that...'' He hummed as he rubbed his chin, his eyes checking from head to toe as if searching for something. ''Please don't take this the wrong way, but you look nothing like the man, so I'm a bit skeptical. ''

At this point I could only sigh at the eternal remark that I often get. ''I'm adopted.''

''Oh, so that's how it is.'' He nodded, a sudden look of realization presented itself on his face. ''Since we are on the subject, tell him I will send him the bill soon.''

''Bill? What bill?'' I asked confused, blinking a couple of times.

His smile vanished and was replied by tired scowl. ''He ruined my favorite suit and it's only natural that he should pay for it.''

Going by logic and other normal communication facts, there was only one word that I could use. ''... What?''

The butler sighed and tiled his head to the side, a tired smile present on his face. ''Normally I don't mind a few small rips here and there and couple of missing buttons, nothing unmanageable, but bullet holes are far too much of a headache to fix.''

Yep... here I find once again stuff about my dad that literally wants me to just bang my head against the wall. I really need to sit down with him one of these days and just talk things over, but until then, I have to deal with this kind of stuff. Glancing to the side I noticed the shit eating grin present on Tsubasa's face. ''Wow... your dad sure sounds like an interesting guy.''

I couldn't stop my hand from grabbing my face. ''I honestly don't know what to comment.''

Perhaps it was best if I just observed things for now, for that I took a nearby seat next to the others who waited for the preparation to be done. At one point that butler made a parchment of some sort's teleport on the desk, saying that it's the marriage contract between the heirs of Sitri and Zepar and explained that should Sona win it will become invalid. He also materialized another contract, one which he said is an agreement between both Sona and Segrif concerning the rights and rules of the game they were about to play. Apparently once you sign it, if you by some reason break it, the end result won't be pretty.

Considering that this was a matter between the heirs, we couldn't really do anything besides sit on the side-lines and watch, hopping for the victory of our master. Small murmurs got my attention and I looked to my left where Ruruko was whispering to the older girls. ''Say guys, isn't the Ronové house one of the extinct pillars?''

Reya leaned closer to her and began whispering as well. ''Now that you mention it, yeah, you're right.''

This was indeed something curious. From what I read in some of the books about devils, originally there were seventy-two devil houses, but the aftermath of both the Great War and the devil civil war, more than half of those houses became extinct, with only thirty-three of the original houses still going even to this day, and that is without counting the Extra-devil houses since those are a whole new can of worms.

This is a major reason why arranged marriages seem to be a thing within the devil aristocracy, with the invention of the evil pieces and the inflation of reincarnated devils, there is the risk of one day reincarnated devils becoming the vast majority in society, threatening the system they have. The logical answered the high-class came up with?

Marry your children only to other pure-bloods without as much as taking in consideration their own thoughts and feelings in the matter.

However, if the remaining houses are indeed extinct then how is a member of the Ronové house alive and well right in front of our eyes?

The one who seemed to talk next was Tsubaki-senpai. ''Actually that's a bit of misconception, if a devil house is no longer part of the seventy-two pillars it doesn't necessarily mean there are no more members of that house alive, just that the respective house has lost its status and right to be considered a pillar. Either there aren't any pure-blood members left of the house to carry the blood line, or something happened that caused them to be stripped of their rights.'' She took a moment and crossed her arms under her chest. ''Now that I think about it, I read in some books that a large number of the extinct houses were in fact stripped of their status and power for supporting the Old-Satan faction.''

Oh right, how could I forget?

Apparently after the Great War had officially ended, the devil side was left in a state of internal turmoil since the original Satan's all died in the war, leaving the devil society in complete disarray.

Since the devils think it is such a good idea to offer a person a high position based on ones pedigree rather than their talents and accomplishments, it was decided that the descendants of the originals Satan's to take their predecessors place as leaders.

'How did that go?' one may ask himself. The idiots declared their intentions to restart the war and annihilate all those who have dared to oppose the great devil kind. That was when shit really hit the fan.

Not only has the devil side lost most of their front soldiers which consisted of the legions of devils that served under the pillars, but they also lost leaders, territories, resources and powerful weapons. o continue the war in their weakened state wasn't just reckless, it was pure insanity.

This was what led to the devil society to break into two factions. The ones who supported the old government and wanted to continue the war, which was named the Old-Satan faction due to their unwillingness to change their old ways, and the ones who wished for the continuity and prosperity of the race, named the Anti-Satan faction due to them standing against the very flesh and blood of the ones that led them so many years.

It took years until the civil war ended, but in the end it was the victory of the Anti-Satan faction. Their defeat made the leaders and remaining members of the Old-Satan faction to go into hiding, leaving the seats of the leaders empty.

The people who became the new leaders were the key fighters of the civil war, Sirzechs Gremory, Serafall Sitri, Ajuka Astaroth and Falbium Glasya-Labolas. Each of them taking one of the vacant seats, discarding their old family names in exchange for receiving the titles of the old leaders as a way to honor the original leaders that fought and died in the Great War, Sirzechs took the name of Lucifer, Ajuka took Beelzebub, Serafall took Leviathan and Falbium took Asmodeus.

Because of this, they had to give up their rights as heirs for their old houses, and this led to the next ones born after them to receive those rights. Which led us here, since my master is now the heir of the Sitri clan instead of her sister, she now has to deal with this kind of trouble.

She arranged her glasses, her game face was on and ready. ''Let's begin.''

* * *

It's been about five minutes since the game began, and I can tell without a doubt in my mind that this guy really doesn't have any amount of skill at chess. Ever since I became part of Sona's peerage I would always get dragged in playing chess with her whenever we had time to waste in the office, because of that I managed to get a decent picture of how talented she is at chess. I'm not a expert at chess might I add, in fact I have never once beaten Sona at a game and while I know my way around the board I prefer playing Shogi overall.

So looking at this man it's clear that he isn't used to the type of chess my master plays. His moves have been too straight forward and predictable, easy to be countered and his increasing frustration from losing has only acted as a distraction when it came to concentrating.

Taking a quick glance over to the King of our peerage, I wasn't able to suppress my smirk. Even one who didn't know how to play could tell by the sly smile on my masters face what was about to happen.

''Checkmate.'' Sona declared as she moved her last piece.

And just like that the mood of those besides me went up the scale. Reya, Tomoe and Momo jumping on the spot in a group hug, Ruruko and Tsubasa high-fiving each other, Saji raising his fist victoriously to the sky, even Tsubaki-senpai was sporting a proud smile.

I honestly wanted to join in myself, go and congratulate my master for her victory... yet a nagging feeling I was getting from the eyes of Segrif made me postpone that idea.

''Well you tried your best, however victory goes to me.'' Sona explained as she arranged her glasses, her proud smile still present, proud but not arrogant or condescending, the kind of smile anyone has when they win at a game. However, that smile was short-lived, disappearing when she saw the darkened look present on the face of the man at the other side of the board. ''Segrif?''

The man's eyes were narrowed sharp, his breathing loud and deep, the chess piece in his hand cracking and shattering from the grip around it. ''...You cheated.''

This made a curious look form on her face. ''Pardon?''

''I said you cheated!'' He snapped as he jumped from his seat, throwing the remains of the chess piece to the wall, further breaking them. ''There's no way you could have countered every move i made, there's just no way you could do that unless you were cheating somehow.''

I was mentally preparing myself to call a sword from the way he was behaving, the others next to me were also on the edge, Saji in particular was gritting his teeth in annoyance.

Our master on the other hand seemed unimpressed by his actions, in fact she was staring in pity at the man who was supposed to be her husband one day.

''Has it ocurred to you for even a second that I won purely on talent and strategy.'' She replied coldly as she rearranged her glasses, her stare cold and calculating. ''It was fairly easy to predict all of your movements, the first three turns you played were enough for me to get a picture of what kind of player you are, the fact that you didn't bother trying to feint me and the way you sacrificed most of your weaker pieces in order to preserve your stronger ones crippled you for the rest of the game. Above all, you're biggest flaw is your rushing in without thinking properly through and how your actions will affect you later.''

She then ignored the fuming man and directed her attention the chess board picking up a single pawn pieces and looked at it in contemplation. ''You heard what I said at the beginning of our meeting, I won't marry someone who isn't at least as intelligent as I am, while chess itself may not reveal all of one's intellectual capabilities or talents, it does help show how one's mind works and his thinking process, as it did in our match. This game further proving my point that you aren't the person I want to spend my life with.''

That was the last straw, the floor beneath the man's feet cracked as he began releasing a serious amount of demonic energy and blood-lust, his eyes glowing dangerously at the woman in front of him. ''You bitch!''

This was bad, the scent I was getting from this sudden influx on of demonic energy send alarms to the back of my mind. Not as strong as Kurosaiga's, but still more then what the others in our peerage can muster. The scent in particular was certainly different, it felt like I was a room with animals of all kinds of species forcefully shoved together against their will.

I wanted take things more cautiously, but it seemed that Saji also wasn't going to just sit back and let someone call the woman who helped him out a bitch, rushing angrily towards the man with a battle cry. ''Bastard!''

For a moment I actually though that his sacred gear covered fist would connect to his opponents face, but that all vanished when Segrif casually caught his fist with one hand, this action only making his frown deepen. ''I don't have time to waste on reincarnated garbage.''

Saji cringed in pain as Segrif tightened the grip around his fist, making his kneel from the intense pain. That was it, no more time to think things through.

''Let him go.'' I muttered sharply from behind him as I planted the tip of Kanshou at his neck.

He was genuinely surprised by the fact I sneaked behind him, but it was short lived as it only angered him even more than he was before, his eyes looking arrogantly at me like I was nothing more than a insect at his feet. ''Or what? You will stab me with that over-sized kitchen knife.''

I only glared at him as I brought the tip of my blade even closer from his neck, almost making contact with his skin. ''Continue to harm my friends and you might just find out.''

He scoffed in annoyance, not even bothering to look me in the eyes, as if such a gesture wasn't worth his time. ''Do you even know who you are talking to low-class?''

''Yeah I do, some sore loser that is blaming others for his short comings and isn't able to accept things the way they are, throwing tantrums left and right like some spoiled brat.'' I went on as I tried to channel my inner jerk side, making sure to hit where it hurts. ''It's quite sad really.''

That seemed to do the trick as he let go of Saji's fist, his energy now more aggressive, directed towards me only. I reinforced my body and prepared to project Bakuya as well. ''Don't you dare pity me!''

''All right gentlemen...'' The butler of the Sitri house, who up until now was silent, finally spoke. ''That's enough!''

With those last words I found myself bound in place, unable to move even a mere inch, but that seemed to be the same case with Segrif. As I looked at the butler for answers, I noticed his hand stretched forward, from the tips of his fingers strings were present. This made me recall my battle with that spider stray devil, my body was now tied in place with thin threads made out of demonic energy.

The situation was similar, but also clearly different. For one thing the strings were made out of pure demonic energy, and he only used a couple of them to completely immobilize us. No doubt that they are leagues apart from those spider threads the stray used.

''Shirou was it?'' He smiled gently as he loosened the grip on the strings that kept me in place, yet not doing the same to Segrif. ''While I do appreciate you're dedication, why don't you just leave this in the hands of the professionals?''

Letting out a tired sigh I lowered my weapon and stepped to the side so he could make eye contact with the annoying fiancée. ''Segrif-sama, you were well aware of the risks of the bet and you still accepted, signing a contract might I add that testifies that. The proper response a man of your status should have even though you lost is to walk away with the remaining dignity you have left.''

He didn't seem to take the butlers words at all, scoffing to the side in annoyance like a little brat. This disrespectful behavior made Vincent-san close his eyes and sigh. ''Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I'm not saying this as the humble head butler of the Sitri household.'' With that final word, the world around me felt like it shattered and fell down to crush me, the air became thick and heavy, my body sweating and shaking in fear from the wave of demonic energy that swallowed me. My eyes glance fearfully to the side at the source, Vincent-san starring Segrif with cold and deadly eyes, his pleasant smile was gone, all that was left was a thin line of his lips and the menacing glow of his red eyes. ''I'm saying this as the pawn of Serafall Leviathan.''

The man in question pale and seemed to shrink under the intense gaze and demonic power of the man that felt like he could destroy him on a mere whim. ''... V-Very well. I accept this defeat.''

''Excellent.'' Vincent chirped as he reassumed his cheerful persona and stopped displaying his demonic energy. I took that moment to crash on a nearby chair and take several deep breaths. I felt like I was being kept underwater against my will, suffocation by the intensity of his power. I only read about them, but this was the first time I experience the power of one, the so called ultimate-class devil. Compared to this guy Kurosaiga was a small fry, if by some reason I would end up fighting this guy or someone of his level, running away like there's tomorrow would probably be the best choice. Man I'm glad he is on our side.

Vincent-san lifted a paper parchment that had a glowing stamp on it, in the next moment the glow shifted and seemed to shatter. ''With my rights as mediator of this meeting, I hereby declare the marriage contract between Sona Sitri and Segrif Zepar officially cancelled.''

He then turned around to look at the others, a surprised look forming on his face. Who could blame him, Ruruko looked like she was ready to throw up, Saji was on his knees with his head touching the floor, while almost everyone else was either chocking or gasping for air, Tsubaki-senpai and Shahnaz-san were barely keeping themselves on their legs, the only exception was Sona who just looked paler and with quite the amount of sweat on her face. ''Oh my, it seems I might have shown bit too much of my power. I apologize about.''

As the remainders of his energy vanished and the string binds on him were retracted, Segrif stared with pure malice at the woman who beat him. ''You may have defeated me today Sona, but you haven't made me give up.'' A magic circle formed under his feet, Shahnaz-san broke out of her trance as she noticed this and walked behind her master, the two of them starting to vanish. ''We will have words again, that I promise.''

''I certainly hope not.'' Sona commented with a sigh, resting her head on the edge of the chair.

Like an ember in the wind, they were gone.

For the following minute there was silence in the room, the only one who restarted the conversation was Tsubaki-senpai with a cough. ''Well... that went better than expected.''

The winner of the game stood up and walked to the butler, a grateful smile present on her face as she looked at the man. ''Thank you Vincent for stepping in before someone got hurt.''

''All in a day's work.'' He responded with a smile as he did a small bow. ''Speaking of which I do have to get back at the mansion and make sure everything is alright, I swear the staff is like a ship without a steering wheel when I'm gone.''

He stepped in the middle of the room, his own magic circle manifesting. ''I hope next time we see each other it will on more casual terms, until then, I bid you all adieu.''

Feeling a bit confused and awkward about everything that happened and the things I still wanted to ask, the only thing I could do is wave lightly and say my farewell. ''Umm, thanks again for the help, you were a real saver back there.''

''I'm not anything special.'' Vincent smiled one last time at us as he teleported away. ''I'm just one hell of a butler...''

* * *

Since Vincent departed we all tagged in and cleaned up the mess that the meeting resulted. Who would have thought that our windows would crack and shatter from the amount of power the butler was showing. When Sona said that was just him letting a bit of his power leak I started choking on the air, the amount of power he showed wasn't even remotely close to his full extent. If hell is really filled with guys like him I don't feel like touring it anytime soon.

For all that happened, I guess it ended well. The only person who was left with a bitter taste of the whole ordeal was Saji as he wasn't able even to touch Segrif. That aside, my master was rather... silent about everything that happened, she sat down at her desk and just stared aimlessly at the air in the room.

The queen of our group seemed to notice this as well and walked behind our master, placing her hand over her shoulder, breaking her out of her contemplating. ''You know Sona, I would have expected you to be more happy now that you got out of the marriage.''

She stared at her best friend with a neutral look before she let out a tired sigh. ''Trust me, I am in a very good mood, just a bit tired of having to deal with all of this in the first place.'' Even though she said that, it didn't stop her from clicking her teeth. ''Just what were my parents thinking when they chose him as my fiancée?''

''Well it's all over so I guess its fine.'' Tomoe commented with a half laugh.

''It still doesn't spare me of the headache that man gives me.'' Our master rolled her eyes to the side, truthfully speaking I found the whole fiancée stunt rather tiring myself.

''If you say so Kaichou.'' Tsubasa remarked as finished picking up the remainder of the shattered glass, a curious look forming on her tomboyish face. ''I'm curious about something, won't your parents choose someone else to take his place?''

The small snark she made was pretty clear sign that she found the idea rather annoying. ''Let them choose all they want, hopefully this time they will pick a more proper man.''

I decide to join the conversation as I wasn't finding the idea of another guy like Segrif barging at our doors anytime soon. ''If that guy was any indication towards devil aristocracy you might need to keep that chessboard around.''

''I already do that, also try not to make any impression about high class devils based on him.'' She explained with a calm voice, the others getting closer as this seemed to peek their interest. ''I admit there are many who are from the same brand of cloth as he is, but there are some that are honorable and respectable individuals.''

''Really? Like who?'' It was Saji who asked this, sounding rather skeptical, a feeling which I also shared.

''Take Sairaorg Bael, the current heir of the Bael house for instance. Circumstances were rather harsh for him as he was born magically inept, unable to use his family's magical trait and failed to perform even the most basic of spells. '' she elaborated slowly, a visible irritation present in her eyes. ''In the eyes of his family and devil kind in general he was nothing more than defect.''

''Many in this kind of situation would just give and resign themselves to fate whims, but do you know what he did in this case?'' she asked us, to which we all shook our heads. ''He manned up and physically trained himself more than any devil ever before, and kept doing it years upon years until there was nothing that his fists could not break, be it objects or magical attack, surpassing most of the so called elite pure-blood with nothing but his strength and fighting skills.''

''By experiencing the hardships, marginalization and mistreatment that those without power or status have to go through he learned not to judge people by their background, status or abilities.'' I saw it for a moment, a relaxed and perhaps proud look present on her features. ''If there is a devil in my generation that I truly respect it's without a doubt him. He is the living embodiment of the idea that people can attain great strength through hard work and dedication even though they lack talent or ability for it.''

It certainly was rare to see Sona talk about someone in such high regard, she does occasionally mention her sister or Rias-senpai, but never with this amount of admiration. This Sairaorg must be quite the interesting person, wonder if I will meet him soon?

Tsubaki-senpai had a curious look present on her face as she cupped her chin. ''Now that you mention it, last I heard of him he went training again in waste lands near the borderline of the Bael territory.''

''Sounds like a cool guy to be around doesn't he?'' Momo commented with sly smile to Reya, the latter simply shrugged her shoulders.

''Indeed he is.'' Sona commented as she rested her face on the bridge of her palm. ''If my parents would have made him my fiancée I probably wouldn't have been against the idea.''

This remark was enough to garner some interesting reactions from the people in the room, Saji's eyes in particular looked like they were about to pop out of his head. ''Wait, what!? Kaichou you like the guy?!''

There was surprised look on our master's face, probably more from the face Saji was making rather by the idea of liking the man. ''No, I do respect him, yes, find him a handsome and pleasant person to be around, also true. But no, I don't like him in a romantic way.'' She put her arms forward and stretched them tiredly. ''I was just saying I wouldn't mind having a person like him as a husband.''

This new information seemed to put Saji at ease, his features relaxing as he smiled calmly, but it was only for a second, his face morphing into a panicked on from the icy glare he was receiving from the King of our peerage. ''My love life aside, Saji we need to talk about dealing with guests in a proper way.''

Ouch... guess attacking someone before they actually did anything remotely violent is kinda reckless, I should know that very well. Hang in there Saji.

I reached for my phone as I felt a sudden short vibration. Checking at the message from the newly installed application, I couldn't help but comment out loud. ''Huh... I just got a friend request from Ayako.''

* * *

Segrif Zepar wasn't angry about what has transpired earlier. He wasn't angry, not at all, he was absolutely livid.

When he teleported back to his office he started thrashing whatever he could get his hands in a fit of rage. One of his servants, a young woman with blonde tried calming her master, offering him a cup of wine while giving him reassuring words.

Segrif took a moment and stared at the cup, eventually taking it, only to violently throw it in the woman's face, breaking and cutting her poor face.

Shahnaz couldn't take it anymore, it was one thing to venture your frustration on objects, but on people was a different story. It was time she stepped in and tried to calm her raging master. ''Master please calm down, it's not the end of-''

She didn't get to finish her sentence as her master slapped her, so hard that she hit the floor.

''You useless bitch!'' Segrif snapped at the cloak wearing woman, kicking her in the abdomen. A pain filled gasp escaped her mouth, the urge to throw up ragging through her body in sync with the pain of the strike. Her master didn't gave her any time to recover, yanking up by her hair so she could look him in the eyes, said eyes filled with nothing but rage. ''Why didn't you use your sacred gear when you saw that I was losing?''

She was scared, very, very scared. She knew very well that her master wasn't the best person to be around when he was this upset, but it wasn't like she could just run away, she was still one of his pieces, and truth be told she couldn't bring herself to do it even if she wanted to. The only thing that she could do is swallow her pride and her pain, doing her duty even if she knew she might regret it later. ''I-I tried master, but the moment I tried summoning it Sir Vincent locked his eyes on me. The moment I would attempted to use it he would have stopped me.''

''Fuck it all!'' Segrif roared as he threw her to the side like a rug, the poor woman crashing in a nearby wooden coffee table. ''I go out of my way and spend a fortune on acquiring you and your sacred gear just to be useless when I need it the most.''

Shahnaz didn't say anything, knowing that no matter what excuse she made it wouldn't make any difference. She just sat in silence as she watched her master destroy everything he could get his hands on.

It was a good five minutes before the man finally tired himself down and stopped trashing the room. Or perhaps it was because he simply run out of things to destroy.

''I will not let this go by.'' He muttered slowly as he turned around, eyes covered by the shadow of his bangs. ''If I can't have her by the legal ways, then I will just have to improvise a more extreme method.''

This scared Shahnaz, she knew her master was reckless under stress or anger, who knew what he was planning to do, and what ramification it may have for both him and his peerage. ''Master... just what are you planning?''

He placed his palm over his face, covering the unbecoming snarl that was present on it. ''In any of the circumstances I would have laid low for a while and then taken action, but that lowlife pawn of hers has managed to anger me beyond my limits.''

She gulped nervously as she recalled the boy with the auburn hair. His words really hit her master where it hurt, plus the audacity he had to point a sword at his throat. Until now low class devils wouldn't even dare to talk back at him, let alone threaten him. No wonder her master was in such a sour mood.

''We will move out soon, and 'help' her change her mind.'' Her master declared darkly as he run a hand through his wavy hair. ''How is my new pawn handling his powers?''

Shahnaz swallowed nervously, the fact that he wants to include his new pawn in this was bad news, as she for one was afraid of the man's powers, or more precisely the potential he held. ''They are stable at the moment but I believe it would be a proper move not to push him too hard for a while. His sacred gear is quite lethal and he just got converted into a devil, plus he consumed seven pawns so it would take more time than a regular pawn for his powers to stabilize.''

''Whatever.'' He scoffed arrogantly as he walked to exit of the room, throwing his servant one last stare as he stepped out. ''Check on him and the rest of the peerage and make sure he is ready for combat.''

As the heir of Zepar walked through the hall of his lair, a vein in his forehead bulged, his eyes morphing into snake like slits. ''This is not the end Sona... you will pay for humiliating me.''

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''An update in only a month?'' Taiga commented as she read the chapter. ''Well that's a great way to start this New Year.''

''Is it me or is Ray-san recycling ideas from the canon?'' Miyu asked as she scrolled through the chapter.

''Not really, I mean if really wanted to he could have made the whole rating game against the fiancee douche bag problem happen, instead he seems to be planing something else. They look and taste similar, but are actually different, like Cola and Pepsi.'' Taiga explained.

''I'm more surprised that the update was faster this time.'' Illya commented.

''How did that happen?'' Miyu wondered.

''Winter break? Stepping up his writing game? Staying up late and writing like a loser without any personal life?'' Taiga elaborated without any care in the world.

''That's really cold...'' Illya commented.

''I'll stop being a bitch when he gives us actual roles in the story!'' the tiger like woman nodded vigorously.

''So that means you will stay a bitch until the story is over?'' Miyu commented.

That was all it took, the tiger has been unleashed and pounced after them. ''WHY YOU!''

''Stay tuned for next chapter!'' Illya and Miyu said in sync as they ran from the rampaging tiger.

''CHECK IT OUT!''

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Hey guys! Haven't seen you all since last year! (Cricket sounds in the background). Okay fine that was lame.**

 **A new chapter with Shirou doing his job as a member of the student council. Would be weird if I didn't do one wouldn't it?**

 **The first part of the chapter I guess is what you a breather episode. Just Shirou casually interacting with others, growing closer to certain people.**

 **So I guess next chapter is the start of the new arc. Anyone here remember that is specified that Sona also had a fiancée in the canon but she got out of the whole thing by beating the guy in a chess game? Well this made me think about it, and it would be a waste not to take advantage of it. Now here comes the challenge: Can I make this guy an even greater douche bag than Riser was?**

 **Man this will be hard... let's see if my OC skills are any good.**

 **Speaking of OC's, presenting to you Vincent Renove, the pawn of Serafall. Why the need to create an OC like him you may ask? Remember how the Gremory and the Sitri have this little parallels going around? I decided to roll with it. So just as Sirzechs has a Queen that is the head maid of the Gremory house, Serafall has a Pawn that is the head butler of the Sitri household.**

 **I did need a pretty big fish to act as judge for the game, but calling Grayfia would seem a bit out of place. Not that I don't like her character, it's a thing about logic, her duties are towards the Gremory house, not the Sitri.**

 **Plus who doesn't like a badass butler?**

 **I also started a forum, the link is on my page. There i made a suggestion box, where you can drop ideas you have that think might work in the context of this story.**

 **So regarding next chapter... I will try, but I can't promise that it will be out anytime soon. I'm staring exam session in February and will have exams all month, so I'm not sure how much I can get to write.**

* * *

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

Oh for those of you who answered Roronoa Zoro, Himura Kenshin, Kamina, Ladydevimon, Faust the VIII, Kaneki Ken, Akame, Tenten, 2B during the Halloween event congratulations! You guys sure know your anime!

DPSS: They are pretty deadly to monster like beings, but under the condition that Shirou can actually touch the enemy with them, that and his projecting isn't perfect yet so his weapons may lack the amount of power if they were projected by EMIYA

Lsilver19: The first part may happen, the second part... When you consider the fact I try to keep the canon mostly the same, turning Kiba in a chick would be kinda counterproductive don't you think?

JaredDrake: That's right. Keep that in mind, it will actually have relevance in the future.

Sonicdude8: We will, and about Archer, let's just say he knows more than he lets on.

furukawa023: Let's just say that those opening lines have a certain importance, which will revealed later on in the story.

Falvern: He's Shirou duh, unless a woman is directly forward to him I can't see the message go through his thick skull.

BloodWolf752: You are free to believe whatever you want, just know that I like throwing foreshadows about all kinds of stuff every now and there.

YuukiAsuna-Chan: Let me just say this. Did Shirou used even once anything devil related?

Matrience: Tell me to what I can change I will consider it. Tell me the exact descriptive name for a person like Shirou who has matching elemental alignment and Origin and I will use it.

SnowPegasi: Here's some food for thought. Class observation day. Both Iri and Serafall meeting there, I will leave at that.

naovan10: They will play a major part later, and then you will be like: 'Oh, that was there all along.'

tl34lt12: I plan on doing it.

Masterx01: For the first, this version of shirou hasn't used his circuits at all up until now, the fact he never used them makes them is very similar to misusing them like in the canon. For the second, shirou is in a very unique state, none of the dxd devil power can be applied to him at the moment, it will later explained. About the third, i know about the dual swords ability, it will be addressed later to why it didn't work as they were supposed to.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, I could use some constructive criticism.**


	11. Suiter Problems

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money off this**

* * *

 _It's done..._

 _So long I searched..._

 _So many times I failed..._

 _I finally found it..._

 _The chance to correct everything..._

 _One single action was all I needed to finish it for good..._

 _Yet I couldn't pull the trigger..._

* * *

 **Chapter 11:**

 **Suitor problems**

* * *

Such a normal day it is, the sun up in the sky, the birds are chirping innocently in the trees.

''Not good enough.'' My so called aunt elbowing me in the side of my neck with enough force to probably knock down a full grown man... yep such a normal day it is indeed… well at least for me that is.

''Gah!'' I gasped for air as the hit was point on and temporarily stunned me, giving the woman enough time to kick me down, mount on my back, and place her combat knife to my throat.

''You need to stop holding back Shirou, otherwise you will never be able to beat me.'' She commented with her usual dull stare as she got back up, offering me a helping hand to stand.

Ever since I got involved with the 'Moonlit world' as they call it, aunt Maiya has been in charge of my hand to hand combat training. While Liz is a beast when it comes to raw strength, Maiya on the other hand is well versed in technique and strategy, able to disarm me immediately even though she says she is perfectly human. That aside, she explained that the best way for one to develop a battle sense is constant combat, which I agree on considering that it didn't matter how much I physically trained myself or learn magecraft from Sella if I couldn't find a way to apply them in real life combat. To put it in perspective, it would be like studying all kinds of recipes and cooking techniques from books and videos without actually practicing them in the kitchen.

I sighed as I took her hand and got up, dusting my aching rear. ''... Funny you say that considering that _you_ are the one who told me to fight without using any weapons or my circuits at all.''

If the smug smile present on her face was any indication, my words were amusing her quite a bit. ''And yet that didn't stop you from getting your ass handed to you by a normal woman.''

That certainly wasn't helping me, so it would be best to just say it out loud. ''... Is there even a point to this training you're putting me through?''

''Actually there is, tell me Shirou, what makes me fundamentally different from the rest of your family?'' She asked me as she leaned against a nearby wall. I was tempted to say her hair but it would have been stupid, a case of pot calling the kettle black, so I just shut up and let her go on. ''Unlike the rest of them I'm just a regular human without even one circuit in my body nor do I possess any other supernatural abilities.''

She crossed her arms as she slightly narrowed her eyes. ''So tell me, in spite of all that why am I beating you with such ease, when your natural physical prowess exceeds mine?''

I honestly wasn't sure how to answer. Truth be told I've been contemplating on this subject from the first day aunt Maiya made me kiss the floor with only a single strike, but even now after so many sparring sessions I still haven't found a clear answer. I shrugged my shoulders to showcase my lack of answer, an action which made the woman in front of me sigh tiredly.

''The answer is rather simple, experience and adaptability.'' She said as she started walking around back and forth. ''Because I lack so much compared to others I must expand my horizons and think outside the box. The point of this training is to put you in the situation where you need adapt to various scenarios, this one in particular focuses on what to do if you run out of prana. Most mages would find themselves confused and unsure what to do if they face an enemy and suddenly find themselves without the help of their precious magecraft, the ridiculous belief that everything can be solved by magecraft becoming their downfall.''

I took a moment and processed her explanation. It was actually a very important point considering my situation, the moment I run out of prana I would be a sitting duck. Since up until now I relied entirely on magecraft to get through my fights I may just be counted among the people who believe that magecraft can solve everything. I need to learn as much as I can and be able to adapt to various situations so I can fight even if I run out of prana, practical stuff like martial arts or maybe learn to use firearms would be handy.

''I may not be an expert on magecraft like Sella, or a powerful fighter like Leysritt, but I have a mind-set that lets me analyze the current situation and find ways of facing stronger enemies even though I'm just human.'' She stopped moving around and stared me dead in the eyes. ''If you find yourself in close combat learn how to fight with your bare hands, if you face an opponent you can't beat in direct combat learn to utilize hit and run tactics, if you can't grasp openings from him then use your surroundings to create that chance, and the list goes on.''

A small smile made its way on her face. ''The moment you learn to fight with and without your magecraft you will see visible results. Combine those two together and you will become a force to be reckon with.'' I couldn't help but taken back by the sudden chuckle she had. ''Just like Kiritsugu.''

''You know the more I think I'm learning about my dad the more questions pop up right away.'' I mumbled as I got up from the ground, looking curiously at the woman who probably knows my dad better than I do. ''I keep hearing things left and right about him, and I'm not sure what to believe about him. Just what kind of man is he really?''

''Kiritsugu is... complicated to say the least.'' She started as she looked to the side, a look of awkwardness present in her eyes. ''The man you know and grew up is his human side so to say, while the person who people like Neculai hate and scorn is the persona he adopts when he is performing his work. Look Shirou, I know it's a lot to ask but please don't try to judge Kiritsugu by what you will learn about him in the future, because at the end of the day he is doing what he thinks is best for everyone.''

I know that... it's just I wish they would just tell me everything so I can properly understand what is truly going on with him, but I guess beggars can't be choosers. I let out a sigh as I scratched the back of my head. ''You sure have a lot of faith in him...''

''I trust him with my life and more than anything else I want to see him happy, the one thing I could never do.'' It was there for a second in her, sadness and regret, but it was quickly replaced by a serene look as she smiled at me. ''The very thing Irisviel, Illya and you were able to do.''

I didn't get to ask what she was referring by that as she pointed behind me. ''Speaking of the devil.''

''Yahoo~'' I turned around and saw Iri waving childishly at us, Liz following behind her.

''So do we have any progress?'' Iri asked curiously as she tiptoed around us.

Maiya sighed tiredly and pointed her thumb at me, specifically the bruises on my body and my messed up clothes. ''I think the results speak for themselves.''

Iri took a second and checked me from head to toe, her eyes half closing as a bored expression formed on her face. ''That's really lame Shirou, you won't be able to charm any girls if they know you're getting your ass handed to you by Maiya.''

What a curious thing pain is, just a second ago my body was aching from the hits I got from Maiya, now my eyes hurt from Iri's antics. ''I'm not training to impress girls...''

She dismissed my answer aside with a wave of her hand as she beamed a cheerful smile at me. ''I know that's not your main objective, but that doesn't mean you can't also make a little side quest.''

I didn't respond, I didn't want to respond, so I just stared at ground, hearing Iri sigh in defeat. ''Stingy as always when it comes to romance, just like your father.''

Trying my best to get rid of this migraine Iri was causing me, I decided to address the elephant in the room. ''Is that all you came for Iri?''

Her face brightened as she clapped her hands together similar to a small child who just realized their favorite cartoon is about to start. ''Actually it's time for your to spar with Liz and I joined to watch the show.''

This made one of my eyebrows raise up. ''Huh, that's new. You usually don't sit to watch how we spar.''

''Let's just say I wouldn't miss this one for anything in the world.'' She commented as she took a nearby seat, the sly smile present on her face was sounding off many alarms in the back of my head.

She was definitely up to something. The question was what exactly?

In my attempt to find some clues to what she was up to, my eyes landed on Liz, more specifically on what she was wearing. ''What's up with the rain coat Liz?''

It wasn't something decorated or eye-catching, just a regular full body yellow rain coat. The only reason I'm even asking this is because it wasn't raining at all outside, heck it was quite sunny today in fact which made it stand out even more.

Liz shifted meekly under the coat as she pointed her hand towards the woman behind me. ''... Your mom's idea.''

If before I was just speculating, now I'm one hundred percent sure she is scheming something shady. ''What are you up to Iri?''

She placed a finger on her lower lip and looked at me with big eyes, blinking innocently to what I was implying. ''What could little old me ever do?''

This only made my eye throb even stronger than before, quick flashbacks running through my mind as I recalled other times when Iri was scheming something. A chill ran down my spine as I contemplated what may happen. ''From personal experience... way too much than I can handle.''

''Trust me, you will be thanking me at the end of the spar.'' My mother figure told me with a large smirk on her face as she pushed me towards Liz, further cementing my belief that something really bad will happen.

As I straightened myself up and avoided stumbling on the ground I shook my head in order to get my head back in the game. Liz may not be an unpredictable fighter like Maiya but her brute force is no joke, if I get side-tracked and she lands a hit, I will be picking up my teeth from the ground... if they aren't already smashed to pieces that is.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and faced Liz, taking a quick glance towards Maiya who was waving at me. ''Try to remember what I told you while you spar with her.''

I nodded and cleared my mind, taking my surrounding in consideration and the way Liz has fought with me up until now. Today will be different and I will find new ways to fight no matter what Iri may be planning. ''Begin.''

''Here goes.'' I muttered as I dashed forward, aiming for her unguarded side.

Liz seemed as unimpressed as she usually was, an uncharacteristic sigh escaped her lips as she grabbed the rain coat around her. ''... Oh well.''

With a strong pull she took the rain coat off.

For a moment I saw black, it was short lived however as I immediately saw stars.

* * *

I really jinxed myself back there, didn't I?

''Wow Shirou, just wow.'' Iri commented as she poked my head with a stick to check if I was still breathing, getting an odd sense of déjà vu from it. ''I knew you wouldn't have an easy time with the plan I made, but I didn't expect you to get curb stomped like this.''

A strained rumbling was the sound I made as I picked myself up, dusting my clothes and hair of dirt as I stared at the self-proclaimed God of the Emiya house.

She didn't appear to see the amount of ridiculousness in what she previously made me do, tilting her head innocently to the side like a little girl not understanding why her parents were scolding her for what she did wrong. ''Is something wrong? Why are you glaring at me like that?''

I couldn't resist the urge, so I just gave into it, the sound of me face palming was loud enough for everyone to hear, an exhausted growl escaping through my fingers. ''Iri, for the sake of whatever is left of my sanity please explain to me why did you think making me fight Liz dressed like that was a good idea?''

It was right at the moment Liz took of her rain coat off that I saw what she was hiding underneath it.

Lingerie! Black, lacy and transparent lingerie! Perfectly matched with a garter belt and a pair of silky black stockings, all of them the kind you would see in an adult video.

All of my battle instincts and defenses were lost the moment that coat came off. The way she was dressed left nothing to the imagination, the contrast between her milky white skin and the black lingerie which was hugging tightly around her generous curves was too much!

I did manage to wake up from my shock when she punched me and sent me flying a few yards away. While it woke me up from my BSOD state, it didn't solve the fact that I was currently fighting Liz almost naked, which was a stretch since I think that being dressed like that was far more dangerous than fighting her naked.

It was no use… I couldn't fight her in that state, especially since the bra she was wearing was failing miserably to keep her chest in place, those massive things defying the laws of physics and kept bouncing at smallest movement. The way her breasts kept bouncing in the air was causing an almost hypnotic like effect, my mind and my sense of morals telling me that I shouldn't look, but my eyes were just refusing to listen and always took a quick glance towards those magnificent orbs, the way they seemed to almost glisten from how the drops of sweat were flowing down on them, almost making me see through the fabric of her bra when I was too close to her.

In short, fighting her with that kind of distraction made me end up getting pummeled pretty bad.

Since the front was a danger zone, I tried a different approach and attempted to attack her from behind. It was just as much of a danger zone as the front was, if not more depending on one's personal taste in the female body.

I simply can't get my head around how women can wear panties like what Liz wore, or how such an amalgamation that looked like it was made from just a couple of strings is able to hold itself in place and not fall apart. Such a mystery the existence known as the thong is, and what a dangerous power it possesses.

My eyes widen as I just realized what I was thinking of, and what images where deeply imprinted on the retina of those said eyes, I raised my fist and promptly smashed it in my face.

Bad Shirou! Bad! No fantasizing about your family dammit!

I really need to stop hanging around Saji when he starts talking about women... he is slowly corrupting me.

''Shirou, Shirou, you still are green when it comes to battle.'' Iri began with small finger wave and a 'tsk, tsk' sound. ''When you face someone who is ready to put their lives on the line you can never be sure of what they might pull off in order to survive. You would be surprised how women use their assets and their sexuality in order to distract a male opponent only to make him let his guard down.''

Her answer didn't help wash away the lingering embarrassment that was still in me. ''I still fail to see the point why you made me fight Liz like that.''

''In order to familiarize yourself with the female body!'' She dramatically did a spin and pointed towards my face with a triumphant look. ''Because you never had a girlfriend, let alone any actual experience with a woman, you would be quite vulnerable if a female enemy used seduction tactics on you. To further prove my point just look at how Liz messed you up.''

To say that I was feeling extremely uncomfortable about this whole thing was an understatement. ''T-That was different, I was taken by surprise.''

Iri snapped her fingers and pointed at me. ''That right there is the whole point Shirou. I'm not saying you would just get charmed by an female opponent and become her obedient puppy, but if she flashes you her goods during a fight your mind might just freeze at that moment, giving her the opportunity to take you down, just like how it happened when you started fighting Liz.''

''I honestly don't see many women doing stuff like that in battle.'' I commented as I checked my mouth, to my surprise all my teeth were still there.

''Oh trust me, women can be ten times more dangerous than men if they know how to do their job. In fact some of the most deadly female assassins use their beauty and charm in order to kill their targets.'' Surprisingly it was Maiya who said this, quite seriously might I add. ''It's also not limited only to women, any person can make someone drop their guard if they use the right words and the proper body language.''

As she finished explaining she walked towards me, arriving right in front me, curling one of her arms around my neck, placing her left leg in-between mine, lips slightly parted as a dazed look was present on her features. This definitely wasn't the Maiya I grew up with! My mouth drying up as my mind was failing to compute just what the hell was going on! ''C-Could you please back up a little?''

She tilted her head innocently her face growing closer to my own, her mouth whispering closely to my ear. ''Why? Does being so close to you make you nervous?''

I will be honest, I'm not sure which part is the real mind screw, the fact right I'm having a woman cling on me at a paper thin distance, or the fact that the said woman is Maiya!

With a lot of self-control I tried my best to look to the side and not just flip out and run away because this freaky situation. ''... A bit.''

She pulled her head back, her usual serious expression was back. ''Very well, I will give you some space to breathe, but only after you look down.''

I didn't understood what she meant by that, my eyes widening when I complied. There, right next to my throat she was holding the blade of her knife. So close and well placed that all she needed to do was just flick her wrist and I would probably bleed to death. ''W-When?''

She retracted the knife and put it back its holder. ''See what I mean, you were so focused on my face and words instead of my hand that I was able to easily bring my knife to your throat, and with the time it took before you finally realized it was there I could have slit your throat ten times.''

After a few seconds of dissecting this, I realized just how right she was. Her uncharacteristically actions took me so much by surprise that I ignored the rest of her movements, my guard left down long enough for her to take me out. If this was a real battle, I would be on the ground gushing out my remaining blood.

''Seduction methods aside, even people who lack magical talent or special abilities can still become dangerous if they know the right way to do it. Never forget Shirou that even people who may not seem like a threat to you can stab you when you let your guard down.''

''... I'll try to remember that.'' I could only nod at Maiya's lesson, truthfully I try not to drop my guard but there are still things that can surprise me and make me lose focus. I need to become more calm and collected, so much that even if I see nudity I won't flinch.

 _I need nerves of steel._

All that aside, there is something that's been bugging me ever since Maiya used that little clingy trick on me, making me stare quite intensely at her. ''What? Is there something on my face?''

My eyes started blinking as I rubbed the back of my head. ''No... I was just wondering if you ever do that seduction tactic when you're on missions and stuff.''

She just stared at me with cold blank eyes, something I would call a 'Are you for real?' look present on her face. ''... I generally prefer to snipe my targets. Its far more simple than trying to seduce them.''

Before I could even comment about the whole prospect about her snipping people, it all went to the side as I heard Iri fall on the ground into a hysteric laughter. ''Maiya seducing a man! Now that's rich!''

''Are you implying something there?'' Maiya asked in ice cold tone, her left eye twitching all too slightly.

The annoyance present on the black haired woman didn't seem to make my mother's laugh subside any bit. ''Come on Maiya we both know you couldn't seduce a man even your life depended on it.''

That seemed to add more gasoline to the fire. ''Like you have any rich history with men.''

''Says the woman who's still single and isn't getting any younger!''

''Says the woman whose husband is as romantic as brick wall!''

''You looking for a fight skank?!''

''Bring it on bitch!''

As I watched Iri pounce over Maiya like a savage white lion and start the figurative cat fight, I couldn't help but sigh and look at the woman at my right. ''... They forgot about us didn't they?''

''Yep.'' Liz nodded.

Even though Liz put the coat back on, I still have a hard time focusing on her face alone, either because of embarrassment or awkwardness, perhaps both. ''Sorry you got dragged in her little game Liz.''

''Nah, its fine.'' She commented nonchalantly with her usual poker face, though I couldn't help but notice a deep tinge of pink in her cheeks. ''I don't mind since it's you Shirou.''

''... If you say so.'' I replied a bit confused, not sure what she meant by the last part. That aside, there was something that's been bugging me for a while, a certain someone has been absent even though so much chaos took place around here. ''By the way was Sella aware of this genius plan Iri made?''

''Actually your mom wanted to make both me and Sella to appear like this together, though in her case she was supposed to wear all white, a thing about contrast or something.''

I wonder if it's normal to want to bang my head against a brick wall when listening to such a discussion... Why must my imagination be so strong?

The sudden image of both Liz and Sella hugging each other while wearing those kind of risque lingerie, a perfect contrast between the opposing black and white, and the physiques of the two women.

...

God damn hormones!

''I take it Sella didn't take it too well?'' I asked Liz cautiously as I avoided eye contact, I couldn't look her in the eyes, not for now at least.

''Her face became red like a tomato and she just jumped out the window. We still haven't found her.''

I took that piece of information quite well and relaxed a bit, at least I won't have Iri pulling a fast one on me and making Sella appear out of nowhere dressed skimpily just to surprise me. ''Maybe it's better that way, I don't think my mind could have handled that much.''

All of that aside, training in general had been both progressing and stagnating at the same time. When it came to practicing the spells I learned from the card I've been getting a better hang of it, I currently can project ten copies of Kanshou and Bakuya before I start feeling the burn, yet there still seems to be something missing when I project them.

Speaking of projection, ever since the battle with Kurosaiga I tried tapping into that power that gave me the knowledge required to project Yawaraki-Te. I still remembered it vividly, the image of the hill covered in endless swords. I've tried so many times to grasp that image once more, but it just didn't seem to work no matter how hard I concentrated. Whether there is something I'm not doing right or perhaps there is a certain condition to it, I'm not entirely sure.

On the other hand the magecraft lessons I've had with Sella have been progressing rather slowly, when it comes to getting the basics of the branches she chose for me. Combat wise I've started developing a better battle sense but I still can't seem to fight the way I want... perhaps it's because I'm mentally restricting myself due to fear of hurting my family. Only real battle would give me an answer. ''Anyway, I have school so I will see you later.''

''Bye sweetie! Have a nice day!'' Iri waved at me with a bright smile on her face, completely ignoring her messed up hair and fact that her shirt lost all of its buttons, and was now revealing way more skin than I should be allowed to see.

''Dake zure iou zon't horget iour tunch.'' Maiya followed suit with the goodbyes, though in her case it was a bit difficult to understand what she was saying since Iri was pulling her cheeks. Her clothes also saw better days, both sleeves of her sweater being ripped of completely.

... Why can't I have a normal family?

'' _ **To be fair, they were making a solid argument earlier. Seduction tactics are quite a drag to deal with, so it's better if you learn to deal with them early on.''**_ Archer commented with his usual smug voice.

Great, like I didn't have enough on my mind already...

'' _Maybe, but did they really need to make Liz dress like that?''_ I asked while rubbing my eyes, trying to find a silver lining, but failed to do so.

For some reason I knew he was currently rolling his eyes. _**''Do you know of any other way to train someone against seduction tactics?''**_

'' _Oh come on, while in actual battle my mentality shifts and I am more focused than I am in training, there's no way I could get affected by that kind of stuff in battle.''_

'' _ **Actually you can't be sure about that. Although one may have a proper mind set and can resist seduction methods, there are still other ways to get around that.''**_

This was actually starting to get me curious. _''Such as?''_

'' _ **There are spells, potions, curses and charms that can affect ones perception, messing the very way their emotions are registering towards another person. So even if you have a proper self-control against the opposite sex, if they use the right stuff on you, you might fall for an enemy even though your mind is telling you otherwise and don't let me get started on the stuff that can induce an aphrodisiac effect on one.''**_

That does sounds like something that may be legit. I recall Reya mentioning that devil use memories altering spells when covering their tracks, though she also mentioned that they have little effect on devils. So if there are spells that can alter ones memory it shouldn't be a stretch that there are spells that can control ones emotions or at least influence them to a certain degree. _''Huh... never thought it like that.''_

'' _ **On a side note, that sparring was hilarious.''**_ I couldn't see his face when he said this, but something tells me he is having a shit eating smirk right now.

There were only two words that came to my mind at this. _''Screw you.''_

'' _ **Say what you want, but I know deep down there was a part of you that enjoyed the little show she offered, also you have to give credit to the ones that made that lingerie, its quality was certainly of high grade product since it didn't snap during the fight from such powerful movements while holding back such an impressive bust line, all while still maintaining an alluring design.''**_

And just like that my memory was triggered, quick flashbacks at how the spar went, particular images lingering in my head no matter how much I wanted them not to, my hand reaching for my face as I sighed in shame and defeat. ''I really need a cold shower...''

* * *

The day went pretty smoothly afterwards, I went to school, had to deal with a surprise math test which I'm honestly not sure if I will pass or not, and also went through maintenance with the school club's equipment. All of this led me to my current situation.

''Well that's about the last of the equipment.'' I commented as put down the last box of repaired equipment.

Ayako has been uncharacteristically silent for the time that I kept carrying everything here, looking at me with a rather troubled look. ''... I know we're friends and all but that was awfully fast, I mean you picked it up yesterday. Did you do an all-nighter to repair them or something?''

Well she was right about that, I did pick up the equipment yesterday and with the quantity I had it would have taken a normal person at least a couple of days to repair everything, but I am anything but normal. Using structural grasping on objects really cuts my work down compared to how much time and effort it would have took me without using it. ''Not at all, I just have been getting good at what I do.''

''If you say so.'' She muttered as she picked one of the repaired bows and checked it out. ''Though that still doesn't make me feel less indebted to you for always helping out.''

''There's no reason why you should feel indebted Ayako, I'm helping out because I want to, not because I want something in return.''

''I know, but getting help from someone and never doing something in exchange can make one feel like they are taking advantage of you.'' She said as she put back the bow and turned back to me. What she said did have some merit, should someone help me out and I wasn't able to properly thank them would probably make me feel bad with myself. ''If you don't want anything for yourself, then think of doing it for me.''

A long sigh escaped my lips as I narrowed my eyes at her. ''… You tell me that, but I can't really think on anything on the spot.''

''Hmm… wait I may have an idea.'' She said as she snapped her fingers. ''My brother gave me two tickets to the movies this weekend, said he isn't interested, how about I give them to you?''

The idea itself didn't sound bad, but there was one problem. ''I'm not sure, don't you want to go watch it yourself?''

Ayako put a finger under her lips and pondered on it for a bit. ''I wouldn't mind checking it out, but I don't have someone to go with and it would be weird to go and watch it alone.''

So that how it is, well that did make a little sense, I myself wouldn't want to go alone, and she said there are just two tickets. Wait… two tickets… both of us don't want to go alone… ''How about we both go then?''

She seemed to become rigid for a few seconds, the way she mechanically turned her head towards me and looked like I had said something ridiculous. Yet, it was short lived as her face seemed to brighten up. ''That actually sounds like a great idea.''

For some reason she started walking back and forth nodding her head vigorously, a sly smile appearing on her face.

''Then it's settled!'' She shouted enthusiastically, pumping her fist up in victory like manner. ''I'll call you later to pick a time and meeting spot.''

''Sure.'' I waved at her as she dashed out of the room… which was kind of weird considering that I was the one visiting.

'' _ **You're a pathological block head.''**_ Archer commented in the back of my head with an exhausted voice.

Once again he dropped by with his insults out of the blue, making me feel a mixture of confusion and irritation. _''Where did that come from?''_

'' _ **You just invited her on a date.''**_

 _…Eh?_

Wait, I never said anything about or even mentioned the word date... although… now that I took a moment to consider it, two teenagers of opposite sex going to the movies on the weekend does kinda sound like a date.

But there's no way Ayako would think of it as a date otherwise she would have said something about it, so going by that logic it isn't a date.

I didn't invite her on a date… right?

* * *

''It's a date.'' Reya commented.

''It's totally a date.'' Tsubasa nodded.

''How can you not realize it's a date?'' Tomoe asked with narrowed eyes, her free hand rubbing her forehead.

''You high or something dude?'' Saji followed, his face looking like he was struggling to decide if he should be annoyed or pity me.

So apparently I wasn't able to get the whole date thing out of my head and frankly it was getting to the point of turning annoying, so I considered the option of asking a third party for an opinion. Which was somewhat odd since it's usually Ayako that I ask for advice.

With that in my I tried getting a different feminine point of view from the girls of the student council. It initially started with Reyna, but the moment the word date left my mouth the others gathered around me like moths to a flame, all of which led to my current predicament.

My eyes throbbed so bad I had to rub them with my free hand. ''Okay, let's hypothetically say it's a date. What do I do now?''

The girls, plus Saji, looked among themselves, then all shrugged in unison. ''Why are you asking us?''

My head seemed to be pulled by some mysterious force and smashed in the table quite hard, a tired growl escaping my lips, not from the pain, but from the situation at hand. ''Considering the fact that I'm not sure what the hell is going on anymore and I don't have the slightest clue to what I should do if it really turns out to be a date, I'm pretty lost here and could use about any kind of advice I can get.''

Tsubasa was tapping her fingernails against the table as she stared at me with half lidded eyes. ''Don't know what advice to give you Shirou, I mean do you even like Mitsuzuri-san in the first place?''

... Do I like her?

Now that's something that I never really thought of up until now… but then again I always did seem to have a different view when it came to the whole prospects of a relationship, not in a sense that I don't find women attractive and beautiful, but rather I always had this sort of restriction to it, like I don't deserve it. ''I mean I do like her, but just as much as everyone else, I'm honestly not sure if I feel about her anything more than a friend.''

''Well you did mention you've known each other for a while, so I guess it might feel a bit weird if you suddenly went on a date with her.'' Reya explained while gently nodding her head.

''Tell me about it.'' I muttered awkwardly.

I felt my sleeve being pulled, looking to the side I saw Momo staring at me quite seriously. ''Shirou, for real now, if she were to tell you that she likes you, what will you say in response?''

''... I don't know... I have no clue.'' Was all that I could reply to the white haired bishop, also now that I think about it she just confessed to Kiba-san and got rejected so she knows how it feels to have the person you like not share the same feelings, that being said she probably wants to make sure I handle all of this in a way that I don't hurt Ayako's feelings. Not that I would intentionally do that, but recent experience is telling me otherwise. ''I never really considered what I should do if I ever ended up in a situation like this?''

Saji didn't seem to take my words that well and snorted in annoyance. ''I swear Emiya you're either thinking too much into it or are actually scared by the idea of dating. Most guys would be running around towards the sunset in the horizon while screaming 'This is the start of my spring time of youth.' or something like that if they just got a date with a cutie like the Archery captain.''

''I can definitely see you doing that Saji if a cute girl asked you out.'' Tsubasa snickered with a Cheshire grin present on her face.

I could see from here the vein bulging and throbbing on Saji's forehead, this didn't look too good. ''Bite me.''

The blue haired rook only shrugged in response. ''Doesn't seem worth it, not much to bite from what I'm seeing.''

Oh boy, this was definitely adding more fuel to the fire if the way Saji was gritting his teeth was any indication. ''Are you implying I'm weak or something blue mop?''

That apparently hit a nerve with Tsubasa, the latter pulling up her sleeve and showing off her toned arm, clearly inviting Saji to an arm-wrestling match. ''Wanna test it out runt?''

''Bring it!'' The blonde pawn smirked as he pulled his own sleeve.

We all could only stare as the two of them got up and moved to a nearby table and started their strength match.

''They forgot about us didn't they?'' Reya asked somewhat unsure of what to feel at the moment.

''Saji's remark aside, he does make a valid point Shirou.'' Momo commented as she brushed a strand of her wavy hair to the side. ''Normally one would be excited about something like this, or at least be in a good mood, you on the other hand seem more concerned.''

She was making a valid point… I should feel more excited about it… and yet I am like this, trying to crack this whole thing as if it were an advance scientific problem. I couldn't help but rub the bridge of my nose from the frustration I was experiencing, I would take on Kurosaiga again than deal with this. ''… Look I need to think things through, there's just something that isn't sitting right with me about all of this.''

''If you say so.'' Tomoe nodded, though it was rather reluctant, giving me the impression that she wasn't exactly okay with my whole take on the situation.

After looking to the other side of the room I noticed that Saji promoted to Rook and started to arm wrestle Tsubasa, boy there is a lot of throbbing veins going on there. I took a look to the side and noticed Reya pulling the sleeve of my shirt, a gentle smile present of her face. ''Look Shirou if we can help you out in any way don't be shy and just ask us.''

Her words were… pleasant to hear. I would have thanked her for them, if not for the sudden knocking on the door, the very next moment a first year student entered.

''Excuse me, is Ruruko-chan here?'' She asked as she pulled something out of her pocket. ''She forgot her phone in the locker room so I brought it over.''

I walked over to her to pick up the said phone, offering the girl a reassuring smile. ''Thank you for that, don't worry I will give it to her.''

Her face went bright red as she handed me the phone. ''T-That would be appreciated senpai.''

As the girl left I suddenly realized that I had no actual clue to where the twin tailed pawn actually was. ''Where is Ruruko by the way?''

The girls looked among themselves, appearing not sure where the girl in question was, only for Momo to speak up. ''I think she went to get something to eat at the store.''

Nodding I went and got my backpack, a new destination in mind. ''Well, now I know where I should check. See you guys later.''

The girls nodded as I slowly made my way out of the room. As I closed the door I got to see the table underneath the arms of Tsubasa and Saji shatter in pieces, my fellow male devil sent crashing on the floor.

While it was interesting to see Tsubasa put her foot over Saji and pose triumphantly like a hunter securing a wild animal, I couldn't help but feel sorry for both of them. Sona will sure be pissed since they broke the table, that's for sure.

Yep, just another day for the student council.

* * *

Finding Ruruko per say wasn't really difficult since I knew she was at the store on campus. The real problem was waiting for her to return from it since right now was lunch break and it was a somewhat of a rush hour for the small store. If I didn't know better I could swear they are handing free sweets from how many people are struggling with the line, but I digress.

''I did it!'' Ruruko chirped as she made her way out from the rugby like crowd. ''I got the very last curry breads!''

Staring at the twin-tailed pawn was all I could do. Who would've thought that she could use her small size to squeeze her way through the violent crowd, very convenient, and some people complain that being small sucks. ''All that work just to get something to eat...''

Her uniform got pretty wrinkled along the way, if the way how she was struggling to put it back in place was any indication. ''Well it can't be helped Shirou-senpai, not all students bring lunch boxes to school so a lot of them have to buy whatever they can from the store.''

Well she wasn't wrong about that, I for one make my own lunch boxes so I don't worry about what I eat at school, but that's because I know how to cook. Other students who don't know their way around the kitchen, or who don't have someone to make them lunch have to find different alternatives, like convenience store food, though there was another option. ''What about the cafeteria?''

Somewhere along the way she opened the bag and took a bite out of the curry bread, a satisfied smile pasted on her face as she munched on it. ''I think it's a matter of bad timing, we do have only an hour lunch break after all. If you aren't quick enough you will catch the hour long waiting line and by the time it's your turn to pick what you want to eat, most of the good food is gone, and you also barely have any time left to eat.''

''Oh right, I eat so rarely in the cafeteria that I forgot that.'' I commented as I leaned my back against a nearby tree, noticing that Matsuda and Motohama were part of the crowd in front of the store. Huh, would you look at that, two girls just kicked them between the legs for touching them in the wrong places. Divine retribution as that may be, even I feel the pain by looking at that.

''You're not missing much when it comes to the food, let me tell you that.'' Ruruko remarked as she continued munching on the bread like a chipmunk, quite a cute sight might I add.

''Did something happen to it?'' I asked somewhat detached as I watched the two perverts getting beat up pretty bad, one of the girls from the boxing club knocking their heads together.

Ruruko's eyes half closed and stared at me unimpressed. ''Its cafeteria food, the only reasons I see students buy it is because its cheap or out of hunger... sometimes both.''

''I don't think the food is that bad.'' Which was true, the food wasn't really good, but it also wasn't that bad, something in the middle.

Wow, where did that girl pull out all off that rope? And where did she learn to tie two men against a tree like that? Seems like a handy skill to have.

''Very well, then if you were to choose between a homemade lunch and a cafeteria lunch, which one will it be?''

I turned around and looked at her for a bit, opening my mouth to answer, but no reply came to my mind for that. ''…A fair point.''

''Tsk.'' The sudden clicking of one's teeth got my attention. Turning back I was greeted by the sight of a familiar looking white haired girl.

''Oh, hey there Toujou.'' Ruruko waved as the girl walked up to us, a bored and uninterested expression present on her face.

''Nimura.'' She greeted with as much excitement as her face was showing, her golden eyes landing on me, a small curiosity present in them as she stared at me.

Ruruko was just as confused as I was by the girl's intense stare, suddenly nodding as she extended her arms forward, one towards Toujou, the other one towards me. ''Shirou-senpai this is my classmate Toujou Koneko, Toujou this is Shirou-senpai our new Pawn.''

''Sup.'' She said stoically as she stared at the crowd in front of the store.

Now that I think about, I ran into her the day I got turned into a devil, she seemed quite cautions about me, her eyes keeping track on me like I was a threat. ''If I'm not mistaken we met before haven't we?''

She tilted her head slightly and opened her mouth. ''I don't remember.''

For some reason that made my cheek twitch all too slightly. ''... Is that so?''

''So where are you going?'' Ruruko asked a bit awkward, clearly trying to change the subject of the discussion.

''Food.'' Toujou stated simply as she pointed at the store.

To this Ruruko seemed to give her classmate a small sigh. ''If you're going to the store, better forget it, when I left there wasn't much left and with the line there I doubt there will be anything good left.''

Toujou didn't respond, instead she stared at the curry bread in Ruruko's hands, a small glint present in her eyes, one that Ruruko noticed and put the bread outside of the white haired girl's field of vision. ''... I'm not sharing.''

''Stingy.'' Toujou commented with a small frown on her face.

Her reaction seemed to make Ruruko also react, a similar frown forming on her face as well. ''You're not in any position to say that Toujou, you usually buy most of the good things at the store before anyone has a chance to get anything, and you never share, so think of it as karma.''

The petite girl opened her mouth to comment, only for a lion like growl to come out. As she realized the sound her stomach has just made she turned her head awkwardly to the side. ''... So hungry.''

I honestly felt pity for the little girl, wondering if there was any way I could help her out. Since making my way to the store won't do much good and there isn't really any time left out of the lunch break for a cafeteria trip, what else can I do?

Inspiration hit me like a hammer, reaching for my back pack and finding the solution I was looking for. ''Here.''

The white haired girl looked quite skeptical at what I was offering her, more specifically my lunch box. ''Why are you giving me this?''

I shrugged slightly as I offered her a smile. ''Well you just said you're hungry so I thought of helping you.''

''Why?'' she asked me with half closed eyes, not appearing to buy it that I'm helping her without any reason.

''Why not?'' I countered, I didn't see why I shouldn't do it, besides I'm not even hungry.

''You're weird.''

''I'm often told so.''

Our back and forth discussion seemed to give Ruruko a hard time if the way she was sighing was any indication. ''Just accept it Toujou, Shirou-senpai is way too stubborn to take no for an answer if it meant helping someone.''

''...Fine.'' the white haired girl finally accepted, even though it still sounded reluctant. ''Thanks.''

''You're welcome.'' I replied with a smile.

As she put the lunch box in her backpack, she once again narrowed her eyes at me. ''Now for real, why are you helping me?''

''It's not wrong to help others in need.'' I answered her honestly, my eyes once more fixated on her snow white hair and how familiar it is. ''Besides, you remind me of my sister.''

''Sister...'' she muttered in a flat tone.

Weird… It was there for a moment, but I saw it, her eyes became cold and empty, something akin to a terrifying fear running through them when I said that. This made me worry, it was like I did or said something that scared her deeply. ''Is everything alright?''

''Yeah... just... memories. '' She muttered as she quickly turned around and started walking. ''Bye.''

I honestly didn't know what just happened, did I say something that upset her by any chance? Or did I bring up something that I shouldn't?

I'm so confused.

I turned to Ruruko who seemed just as confused as I was, but I hoped that the two of them being classmates might give her any idea about what just happened. ''Do you think there's something wrong with her?''

The fellow pawn simply shrugged her shoulders. ''Can't really say for sure Shirou-senpai. Toujou has always been kinda of a silent loner, she doesn't really get involved with our classmates all that much either, so it's difficult to tell if there's something going on with her.'' She was silent for about a minute as she seemed to contemplate on something, snapping her fingers as she just realized something. ''Though she might have just been a little awkward around you.''

This didn't really help me, in fact it made me all more confused. ''Why would you say that?''

She blinked a couple of times, gesturing towards my backpack. ''Well, you did give her your lunch.''

''So?'' I asked as I failed to see the point.

She stared at me for a few seconds with an open mouth, as if trying to find her words. ''...Are you for real Shirou-senpai?''

''What?''

''If you give a girl that you barely know your own lunch the way you did she might misinterpret that as affection for her, as in you might have feelings for her.''

It took a moment for me to realize that I did indeed hear that right, and the ramifications of what I did meant, yet I still couldn't believe it. ''Wait, what?''

''Did you honestly not realize that?'' she asked me with an astonished expression.

''...No.'' I responded flatly.

She seemed to be just as worked up about this as I was, her eyes half closed with a blank look on her face. ''Wow, I heard Tomoe-senpai comment that you're a bit dense, but this is something new entirely.''

''... I can't be that bad.'' I muttered in defeat… this wasn't the first and probably not the last time something like this was going to happen, I just knew it.

Huh?

I turned around and stared into the distance. There was something on a building far away outside of the campus, I couldn't quite make its form, something black fluttering in the wind, a strong light hurting my eyes as I stared at it. ''Is everything alright Shirou-senpai?''

I blinked and turned around for a second. ''I think so... do you see anything there?''

My question made her one of her eyes browns rise up as she stared to where I was pointing. ''Like what?''

When I looked back there was nothing there anymore, I even reinforced my eyes to get a better view but for nothing. Either I was just seeing things or whoever was there vanished without a trace. ''I'm not sure, for a moment I thought I saw someone there.''

''Maybe it was just your eyes playing tricks.'' She commented as she finished her bread.

''Perhaps...'' I muttered silently, someone was there, I just know it.

The question is who was it?

* * *

When lunch break was over both Ruruko and I returned to student council office and got back to work. As one can expect when that happened we were greeted by a tower of paper work that we had to go through.

Sometimes I wonder if we really are just a high school student council or some public office considering the amount of paper work we go through daily. While I don't mind doing it, after a while you start to feel like you can't take it anymore and want to throw it all out the window. My only solace is that since the student council has so many members we can manage to finish them all in a decent time.

While Sona may be a bit of a taskmaster when it comes to our duties she isn't unreasonable and gives us time and breaks to relax. Such was the case right now, though I think it was more relaxing for Sona than it is for me. ''Checkmate.''

''... Figures.'' I muttered with a sigh, even though I already knew this was going to happen.

Apparently this is something that had been going on for a while ever since Sona invited me to play a game of chess with her. I didn't win, not at all, in fact I don't even consider myself much of a player and prefer playing shogi overall, but from what she told me, I was the biggest challenge she got out of everyone else in the peerage.

That being said whenever she gets the chance Sona challenges me to a new game. I lost count to how many games we had played up until now but I lost every single one of them. Somehow I feel simultaneously impressed and frustrated at the same time, quite the intriguing sensation.

''One more time?'' the black haired woman on the other side of the chessboard asked, excitement present in her eyes even though her face was her usual stoic appearance.

Just how much does she like chess?

I looked her dead in the eyes and replied. ''... No.''

To this her eyes seemed to become pleading, similar to a small puppy begging you to take it home. ''Just one more, please.''

Taking in a deep breath I steeled myself, I will not give in. ''We've already had six games.''

Sona sighed and stopped trying to convince me, rearranging her glasses as she went back to her usual serious persona. ''Fine, but we are playing again tomorrow.''

Now that this problem was out of the way, might as well ask if there is anything else I had to do. ''So anything new that we need to know of?''

She shook her head as she waved her hand and made her chessboard disappear. ''Nothing particular, in fact the rest of the day is pretty much free.''

So I was free for the rest of the day… and since I finished working on the equipment for the clubs and all, I might use it for a problem that's been bugging for a while. ''Actually this might be a good opportunity. Momo, Reya, do you girls think you can help me figure out how to draw out my demonic power?''

The first one to react was Reya, Momo apparently didn't notice it, and now that I look better at her it would have been hard for her to do so since she had her earphones on. ''Still having trouble calling it forth I see.''

I scratched the back of my head as I looked at the braided bishop. Although I have been a devil for a while I haven't managed to draw forth my demonic power. ''No improvement.''

''This is concerning indeed.'' Reya replied while cupping her chin, her eyes then focusing on the other male pawn of the group. ''What about you Saji?''

The said pawn flinched when his name was mentioned, his head turning awkwardly left and right avoiding eye contact with us. After a few seconds he left out a tired sight. ''Not much progress either.''

I wouldn't really say that since I saw him at training sessions using his demonic energy. Sure he could only generate demonic energy ball the size of rice grain but it was still better than nothing like in my case.

Somewhere along the line Momo took of her earphones and Reya briefed her about what was going on, the two of them planning out what to do. ''So I take Shirou, you take Saji?''

''I'm fine with it.'' Reya nodded in agreement.

''Kinky~'' Tsubasa said or rather shouted from the other side of the room with what I could only describe as a 'shit eating grin'.

Curiously this made both bishops go red, the indignation all too present on Reya's face. ''We didn't mean it like that Tsubasa!''

''Like you didn't think about it.'' The bluenette smirked at both bishops, Momo stuck in a jabbering state while Reya's face wouldn't look too out of place on a tomato field.

''No I didn't!'' the braided bishop defended herself, voice high and pitched.

''Oh wait, I was wrong, sorry about that.'' The teams rook replied with a regretful look on her face, one that lasted for a few seconds which was replaced afterwards by a Cheshire grin. ''You were obviously thinking about Shirou's nice ass.''

''See, now that's bett- NO I WASN'T!'' she protested, her voice being one step from being able to shatter glasses due to how pitched it was.

''Any idea what their on about?'' Saji asked obviously confused by what was going on.

''I was just about to ask the same thing.'' I commented with a straight face, he clearly picked the wrong person to ask about this kind of stuff.

With a sigh I walked next to Sona's desk and picked my back pack, if we will train that means we will be heading to the gym so I need to change. I looked at my master as she stared at the bickering going one between the teams bishops and rook respectfully, the whole thing was definitely annoying her judging by how her left eye was throbbing. I might as well try to distract them before things escalate any further. ''By the way, I've been meaning to ask for a while, where is Tomoe?''

''Oh her, she is at the gym trying out her new sword.'' Tsubasa commented as she was getting tackled by the bishop duo.

While the fact that both girls were in perfect sync and managed to put Tsubasa in a lock in spite of her rook strength was quite interesting, yet there was something else that got my attention. ''New sword?''

To my surprise it was Tsubaki-senpai that decided to explain. ''You might have forgotten this Shirou, but during the fight with Kurosaiga her katana shattered and she has been weapon-less ever since. I should know that since I am in a similar situation as her, and I'm still waiting for a replacement for my naginata. It is after all hard to find decent weapons these days.''

''Not so hard for Tomoe apparently if she just got a replacement.'' I commented somewhat dryly, not really knowing that feeling since apparently I can always project myself a weapon whenever I need one.

This time it was Sona that decided to talk. ''Indeed, it might have taken a while for the underworld blacksmiths to reforge it, but they were successful and our knight now has a first grade katana in her arsenal.''

I nodded as I heard this, though I couldn't help but nitpick about something she said. ''It's actually forge Kaichou, not reforge. Reforging is when you take a broken or rundown weapon and bring it back to a proper form.''

She narrowed her eyes at me, clearly uninterested in what I just said. ''I know what I said Shirou, and I wasn't wrong in my statement.''

I blinked once, then twice. ''So wait, she got a reforged weapon instead of a new one?''

''Why yes, even though it may have broken, Kurosaiga's weapon was still a formidable one, it would have been a waste to just leave it be and not put it to good use.''

''Oh I see.'' I commented with a nod, so she basically had Juuchi Yosamu reforged… a cursed sword… and gave it to Tomoe... ''Wait, what?!''

She was startled by my sudden shouting that's for sure, or maybe it was because I leaned over her desk mere inches from her face. ''You mean to tell me that you pulled some strings and had Juuchi Yosamu reforged, and if that wasn't enough you gave it to Tomoe?!''

A lone bead of sweat was dripping on her face as she looked at me. ''I-I fail to see the problem.''

''Wait! You said she was trying it out right now?!'' I clicked my tongue as different scenarios of what could happen ran through my head, I didn't have time to waste here. ''Damn! I have to stop her!''

''Shirou wait!'' I ignored Tsubaki-senpai and the others, rushing head on before something horrible occurred.

* * *

I ran. I ran across the campus all the way towards the gym, and I'm not talking about how a human would normally run, I reinforced my legs and literally stormed my way there, gusts of wind forming from where I rushed, hearing the occasional screams of girls getting their skirts lifted up by the force of the air, and the more than occasional shouts of excitement by the male students.

Secrecy of magic be dammed, I'm not gonna risk every student here just to keep that.

When I reached the gym I didn't bother using the door knob and used my shoulder to force open the door, which in combination with the force of the speed I accumulated almost ripped the door of its hinges. The moment I stepped in I didn't waste time checking the gym and shouted with all my might. ''Tomoe don't draw that sword!''

''Shi-chan?'' I heard her reply from the left side of the gym, when I looked at her I was greeted by a confused look on her face, the sword of Kurosaiga was in her hands... drawn... and she wasn't affected by it... wait... ''Why shouldn't I draw it?''

I rubbed my eyes just in case I wasn't seeing things right. Nope the sword was still there, and she wasn't showing any signs possession, my throat drying out from the confusion... or maybe it was from running here like a speeding bullet. ''Y-You are wielding it?''

She blinked once, then twice, confusion plastered on her face as she rested the back of the katana on her shoulder. ''Of course I am, why wouldn't I?''

This made a storm of thoughts run wild in my head, my words turning into a gibbering mess. ''B-But I, the sword, it's...''

My stuttering seemed to further confuse the team's knight, her eyes narrowing awkwardly at me as she got closer and patted me on the shoulder. ''Okay Shi-chan, I've seen the way you look at swords and I know you have a small sword fetish, but seriously you can't just barge in like that, it's really weird.''

''That's not it...'' I muttered somewhat crept out by what she said... sword fetish... Is that even a legit thing?... anyways... ''Give me a sec to think things through so I can properly explain.''

''Perhaps this wouldn't have happened if you didn't rush out before I had the chance to finish.'' Sona commented as she entered the gym, the others following suit, all appearing rather wind up, probably from trying to catch up to me.

I turned around and began to explain my reasons. ''I didn't have time to waste. The weapon you gave her is Juuchi Yosamu, its curse power is so potent that it causes anyone besides Kurosaiga to fall into an uncontrollable bloodrage.''

She didn't seem to mind what I said and just kept walking until she was in front of me, her hand reaching out and tugged my shirt , pulling me closer, which felt weird considering that I was much taller than her, that, and I noticed that running over here got her to sweat quite a bit. ''Shirou... I want you to do something for me.''

''Uhh… okay?'' I nodded mechanically since the lack of distance between us was making me feel rather awkward.

''Good, now tell me. Do I look like an idiot to you?'' This was probably one of those situations when it's better to shut up, so I just did that as she went. ''Do you honestly think I would intentionally hand over to one of my friends a weapon that could potentially cause them and the others around them harm, a weapon which I know from first-hand experience both literally and figuratively how dangerous it can be?''

Huh… when she puts its like that it does sound kind of stupid, so me thinking that she could have done it that pretty much equals believing she is stupid. ''While you think of the answer to that question, let me go back to what I was going to explain when you rushed out of the office.'' She pointed towards Tomoe and the very weapon that put me on the edge. ''Yes, the sword has been broken and reforged, but the curse power within it has weakened exponentially.''

My eyes widened as I heard it, it weakened? That intense curse aura weakened?

Somehow I was having a hard time believing it. ''They didn't exactly find the cause of that, but they made tests on it and concluded that it can be used without the risk of the user being affected by its blood demanding tendencies even by someone besides Kurosaiga. You yourself said that the compatibility between Kurosaiga and his sword was a very strong one, who knows, perhaps the bond it had with him was so strong that a part of it died together with him when it broke.''

''Talk about clingy.'' Tsubasa snickered.

''I think it's somewhat poetic.'' Tsubaki-senpai added her own two cents.

Now that everything is said and done I can't help but feel like a complete idiot for rushing in the way I did for nothing. Yet, it doesn't hurt to double check just to be sure. ''... So you're not feeling any urge to stab me with that?''

Tomoe's narrowed her eyes as they half closed, looking quite dryly at me. ''What do I look like to you, some crazy yandere stalker or something?''

''Right... sorry about that, maybe I overreacted.''

''It's fine Shi-chan! It shows how much you care!'' she beamed as she jumped in front of me and began ruffling my hair. While I do appreciate her playful personality, I'm not a dog dammit.

It took me minute to put my hair back in place, just in time to listen to Tsubaki-senpai. ''You should learn to control yourself from rushing in like that Shirou, it may become a problem later on.''

She did made a valid point. Yet, I couldn't agree to it. ''That's not something I can promise.''

''What do you mean by that?'' she asked me in a flat tone, her eyes narrowed coldly at me, a perfect mimic of the one Sona usually does.

Similar yes, but she had a long way to go before she can reach her level, that aside I started explaining the meaning behind my words. ''If it comes down to someone getting hurt I won't just sit down and do nothing. I would rather fail trying to make a difference than wait for the problem to get fixed.''

Her eyes were fixed on my own, lips parted slightly until she let out a tired sigh. ''That kind of thinking is admirable, but its best when done with proper thinking and planning.''

She wasn't wrong in what she said, but I had the distinct feeling that it will be much easier said than done. I couldn't help but stare at Tomoe as she kept looking around with a puzzled expression. ''So if everything is all peachy can I go back to my training?''

''You may Tomoe.'' Sona nodded as she rearranged her glasses, a look of realization reflecting behind them. ''In fact, since you're all are here, why don't you practice for the time being. If anything changes I will call for you.''

Everyone gave a nod of acknowledgement to our master, yet her eyes seemed awfully focused on me. That thought was further reinforced when she walked right in front of me and pressed a finger against my chest. ''No funny stuff, are we clear Shirou?''

I had no idea what she was referring to. ''What could I possibly do?''

''I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you somehow managed to blow up the whole place while I was gone. So make sure you don't do anything rash.''

The amount of trust she was showing me at the moment was really touching that's for sure, I mean come on, how would I even destroy the gym in the first place? Oh well, no need for pointless arguing. ''… I'll try.''

''Good luck to all of you.'' She gave one last nod before heading towards the exit.

With that out of the way, it was time to get down to business.

* * *

The flow of the training session was a bit mixed in my opinion. By that, it went steady for the girls, while for Saji and me it went quite badly.

Momo is a pretty sweet girl, usually with quite a lot of patience, which was noticeable the past hour as she tried to help me out and train… but even she had her limits.

''Gahh! This isn't going anywhere!'' The said white haired bishop shirked as she run her fingers through her hair with such intensity that it made me wonder how her hair was still in one piece. ''Reya switch!''

Her best friend sighed as she walked over to me, not daring to ask the fuming Momo what was the problem, and instead she narrowed her eyes at me. ''Okay Shirou, what did you do?''

''Nothing...'' I muttered as I looked to the side.

''Really? You mean Momo was yanking her hair for nothing?'' She asked as she played uninterested with her braids.

Guess there wasn't any use beating around the bush. ''Maybe I didn't formulate that the right way. I meant she was worked up because I did nothing at all.''

''Could you try and explain again, just a tad bit more detailed this time?''

''Momo has been trying to help me get control over my demonic energy, but I've been failing miserable.''

''How far have you've gotten?''

I sighed in shame for what I was about to say. ''Haven't even started, I can't get it to manifest at all.''

''This is certainly odd.'' She stopped playing with her braids and became serious. ''Even Saji is able to manifest it, weak as it may be, but he still is able to do it.''

Might as well try and get more information since we're on the subject. ''Tell me, how did you and the others handled it when you got reincarnated?''

She placed a finger under her lip as she hummed. ''It varied for each of us. In my case and Momo's it happened within a few days, the others on the other had somewhere between one and two weeks, Saji taking the longest as it took him about month. You on the other hand-''

I didn't let her finish since I already knew what she was gonna say. ''Have been a devil for way over a month, and haven't showed the tinniest sign of manifesting it.''

''I didn't want to say it like that, but yes.'' She commented as she rubbed one of her braids. ''It's quite a curious case, it would be one thing for it to manifest and simply be weak, but not manifesting at all is quite odd.''

Indeed… from what I read calling forth demonic energy is something relatively simple, that it should be far easier than riding a bike, and even devil children can manifest it. Heck, I even read that there are even insurance programs for parents in case their child suddenly awakens their demonic energy and cause any destruction.

I brushed that random trivia aside and listened to Reya go on. ''There's also the fact that you can't call forth your wings which is just as concerning. In all honesty Shirou this is way over my head, but there might be something wrong with your body that is suppressing your demonic power. The question that is on my mind is just what that could be.''

Something suppressing it… well I did read that there are magical constructs that devils use on criminals to keep their powers in check, or bounded fields with similar effects, but I highly doubt that my body can naturally create a phenomenon like that without my consent.

I did consider that my origin and elemental alignment may be the cause, but after thinking about it for a while that shouldn't be the case. Demonic energy in a sense is like prana, a form of blank raw energy, it's only after processing and applying it that it can infuse itself with different elements and be used for different spells.

So in theory I should be able to call forth my demonic energy, just that I shouldn't be able to apply it to anything that is out of my field of specialization.

This thought lead me realize something.

''Say there's something I've been wondering.'' I began, getting Reya's full attention. ''Our master mentioned that Sairaorg guy, how he is magically inept and all, do you think that perhaps I could be in a similar state?''

''That might be a possibility, but I'm not sure.'' She nodded but soon waved her hand to the side. ''I don't know how exactly his magical inaptitude works, so it's only speculation. ''

''That may be, but I really have to figure things out. I might have beaten Kurosaiga but in the future I might not get so lucky and will need all the power and skills I can get.''

Reya was carefully watching me, curiosity reflecting in her eyes. ''Actually that's something I've been meaning to ask you about, if you are truly unable to utilize demonic energy, how were you able to stand up to Kurosaiga in the first place?''

Now that she mentions it I never really told them how I did it, but in my defense it wasn't like they actually sit down with and asked me about it. Well then, no time like the present to come clean. ''I'm using a different branch of magical abilities, one that doesn't rely on demonic energy. It's called magecraft.''

''Never heard of it before.'' Reya commented with her head tilting to the side, her shoulders shortly going up in a shrug. ''Though it's not like I know of every form of magic in the world. It could explain why I couldn't figure how you were able to fight toe to toe with Kurosaiga.'' She cupped her chin and began humming. ''Tell me, how does it function compared to devil magic?''

Hmm… how would be the best way to describe the difference between them without going full hour lecture the same way Sella does… ''In simple terms I'm manipulating magical energy found within myself and the ambient air, process it into what's called prana to use for different spells, all while bounded by the laws of phenomena.''

She slowly nodded as she let go of her chin. ''It does sound like devil magic, but seems different.''

I wouldn't be so sure about that since what I read regarding how devil magic functions it's so simple in terms that it's hard to get a good idea of what exactly you should do to start using it. ''I can't really compare, I haven't used devil magic even once, but it does seem a bit easier to use devil magic from what I noticed.''

''Well it's not like devil magic is all powerful. The first thing they teach you is that it heavily relies on the power of one's imagination, but that isn't exactly accurate. You can't imagine a phenomenon or make a event happen that's impossible due to the conditions around you or that you are unable to comprehend.'' She lifted her finger and at the tip of it a small water sphere manifested. ''Take Kaichou's water magic for instance, she isn't creating the water out of thin air, she is manipulating the already existing water vapors in the air, using her demonic energy as a means to expand, empower and manipulate them.''

She dispersed the water sphere and in its place a small fire ball ignited. ''Or take this fire, while it may seem like I am creating it, I rely on the air around me as the base, igniting it and using my demonic energy as fuel to further make it grow in size and power.'' With a flick of her wrists the fire dispersed. ''You can't just imagine someone dying, pour a vast amount of demonic energy and it will happen, everything must be done within a certain line of reason and certain steps must be applied otherwise it will never work even if you are a Satan class devil.''

''The surrounding area can also influence your power. If Kaichou would fight while it was raining or while surrounded by flowing water she would have an unfair advantage. The Sitri's house ability allows her a far more advanced control over water than regular devils, to put it in perspective it's like comparing a water gun to a fireman's hose.''

The way that Reya explained it was certainly more helpful than reading it from a book. As I took in all of this, I began to formulate some more solid ideas regarding how devil magic functions. ''So devil magic is also influenced by common sense and environment. The part about you 'imagining' it refers to you imagining a way for the said event to happen. That's why some people have easier time using certain spells while others don't since each person imagines things differently.''

''Pretty much, it's a bit difficult at the beginning until you get the hang of it, but as you get the proper thinking process and learn how to use your demonic energy, you will have the ideas engraved in your mind so you won't lose time over thinking things. It will become second nature like breathing is.''

This sounded a bit familiar, actually it sounds awfully like my mental trigger. As I learned magecraft in order to turn my circuits on and off I need a mental trigger, in my case respectfully being the image of a gun firing. At first I was focusing a lot on that image in order to properly make my circuits work, but now after constant practice it's like a reflex and I do it instantly on the spot. Guess there are some similarities between devil magic and magecraft after all. ''And here I thought devil magic is all imagination and bam it happens.''

''There's no such thing Shirou, from what I know most forms of magic in existence are bound by the laws of the world, very few forms of magic or objects work outside of it.''

I took a moment as I listened to this, my curiosity taking over. ''Outside of it you say, like what?''

''Like the sacred gears for instance, some of them have really weird and unexplainable powers that seem to be more bound towards the limits of ones will rather than that of rules of the world granting powers that don't really function or make sense from a logical stand point, especially the Longinus types that are said to have the ability to change the very balance of the world.''

Well I wouldn't disagree with her regarding the sacred gears being eye gapers with what they can do, and that's before I even began talking about the Longinus types and what I remember reading about how they affected the world.

A piece of trivia about some of the disasters they cause count the Great Kanto earthquake from 1923. Apparently the previous owner of the Zenith Tempest got himself into life and death battle while visiting Japan and accidentally caused the earthquake that created a hell lot of collateral damage, but more importantly had caused a death count of over 142,800 people. Ironic or not the user died under the rumble of the very earthquake he caused.

Another example is the Bermuda triangle, which is tied to a former Dimension Lost host. While the exact reason or motivation is currently unknown, the former user of this Longinus had caused a dimensional disturbance there, rifts to different dimensions popping out from time to time randomly in that area. If one gets caught in one of those rifts their goners as without a holder of the Dimension Lost to control the rift there's no telling how long it will take for a new rift to open and escape, hence why ships that were lost in the Bermuda Triangle suddenly reappeared after years without any trace of the crew on them.

Oh, and let's not forget the famous, or rather infamous duels between the Boosted Gear and the Divine Dividing hosts. Whenever the hosts of these two respective Longinus meet each other it will always end up in a disaster of unimaginable proportions, their fights aren't as simple as fight until first blood or until they can no longer stand, no, they're fights to the death and once the two of them fall in battle frenzy it won't matter how many innocents get dragged along with them in their carnage, as long as one kills the other it won't matter how much innocent blood is shed.

Because of this the two of them have always been risk factors in a sense that as much as one faction would want to have one of them as ally it can end in a way that the other Heavenly Dragon host will carve his way through the respective faction in order to get to his destined rival.

Their fights always scar the land, the only solace being that most of the fights that occurred between the generations of Heavenly Dragons took place in the underworld or other realms, and very rarely took place in the human world. Though whenever it did happen it would always leave some visible mark, for instance the previous generation of heavenly dragons had their last bout in Derweze, Turkmenistan and the aftermath of their fight resulted with the creation of what is known today as the Darvaza gas crater or more locally known as the "Door to Hell". I find quite surprising that they managed to cover the whole fiasco and just write it off as natural gas field collapsed into an underground cavern.

Brushing aside that entire sacred gear trivia section wrote by Professor Blazing Shining Aura Darkness, no, I am not joking that was the name of the person who wrote the encyclopedia from where I learned all of this stuff. I focused back at Reya who has been contemplating the past minute. ''Other than that I hear that God-class beings have abilities that can go far beyond our understanding.''

Well... if there's one thing that Sella was adamant about is that if by any chance I stumble upon a God, or more commonly known as a Divine-Spirit in magus terms, the best choice of action is either run away like there's no tomorrow, or do whatever I can to make sure not to piss off the respective person otherwise I might just find myself destroyed before I can even say 'I'm sorry'.

I don't know if what Sella taught me about Divine-spirits and other similar beings are legit, but if even half of the stuff she told is real, then I should make a last will just in case I ever stumble upon one. ''Anyway I need to find out what's going on with me. The way I am now I can't even perform a simple promotion which is the central ability of a Pawn.''

''That may be so Shirou but we must be careful, even if we figure out what's keeping you like this it would be best if we don't rush it to fix it ourselves, otherwise we might just make things worse.''

This reminds me... ''Now that you mention it, didn't our master say at one point that she will make me an appointment with Ajuka Beelzebub to check me out and see if there's anything wrong with me?''

''Actually she did, in fact today we received a reply, and you are to present yourself tomorrow for a personal check up.''

So I can finally learn what's wrong with me, it's been a while before I could get an appointment but the man probably has ten times the amount of paper work we have, we take care of the problems of a school, he does of the entirety of hell, so I can only shudder at the thought of how his work desk looks like. ''Feel's a bit weird when I see what influence our master has if she can make me met one of the hell's leaders.''

''Things like this tend to be easier when your sister is one of those said leaders.'' She chuckled as she went on with her explaining.

* * *

While I can say that my talk with Reya was enlightening from a technical point, it didn't really help that much that I still haven't got the hang of to call forth my demonic power. Guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow and see what's actually going on with me.

Since Reya called it a day I started looking around to see if the others needed any help with their training, but from what I could see there's not much I could do. Ruruko and Tsubasa were sparring against each other, Momo, Reya and Tsubaki-senpai were practicing magic together, and Tomoe was doing sword swings, clearly trying to find the best way to handle her new blade. Now there was one person that wasn't accounted for, the said person who I was currently behind. ''What's up Saji? Still struggling to make your sacred gear work?''

For the duration of the training by the way I kept hearing screams and swearing words from his directions I can safely assume that it didn't go too well for him either, but that didn't mean I knew what exactly went wrong so that's why I'm pocking the hypothetical sleeping dragon and judging by the irritated scowl on his face I was doing a great job. ''Oh no, I'm just staring at this thing because I like how shiny it is.''

''There's no need to be so sarcastic.'' I replied with a shrug.

He rose up for a moment, expression giving away that he really wanted to give me a foul retort, but he seemed to manage to calm down and keep it in, though his pissed expression still lived on. ''... Asking a lot of me right now, but you're right. It's just that I've been trying to figure how this damn thing works and it's been annoying like hell that I haven't made any progress.''

Well, I can relate to that on some level, and not just from my lack of utilizing demonic energy, there are quite a lot of magecraft spells that I quite can't use, earning me an earful from Sella. ''What can you even do with it at the moment?''

He lifted his arm and displayed the black gauntlet on it, the eyes of the lizard motif glowing in purple light as its mouth opened and a cable rushed out, shortly returning back in its place. ''I can just summon it and shoot that weird cable out of it, and in most cases the thing doesn't go where I want it to.''

That doesn't really sound all that impressive, I'm sure there is more to it than meets the eye. ''Have you asked the others for help?''

My fellow pawn sighed in exhaustion as he shrugged his shoulders. ''I tried, but they don't really much knowledge about sacred gears, and the one Tsubaki-senpai has works far too differently to give me any pointers.''

While he is making a fair point, that shouldn't drag his mood into the ground. ''There's no need to let it get to you like that.''

''Like hell it is!'' He snapped, stomping on the ground in a fit of rage, teeth violently grinding against each other as he glared at me. ''I'm sick of just being useless! During the fight with Kurosaiga I took the beating of lifetime and didn't even get to touch the guy. Then that Segrif guy came yesterday and manhandled me like a bitch!'' His breathing became hectic, eyes filled with pain and fury. ''It's frustrating when you can't do anything!''

The feeling of helpless... the despair that comes with it... I know it far too well... and it's a feeling I wouldn't want anyone to go through. Because of that, I have to help him however I can. ''You really want to get stronger?''

He lifted his head stared at with sharp eyes. ''What do you think?''

Well that about confirms it, he was ready to put himself in harm's way if it meant becoming stronger, so there was only one thing I can think of that might help him. ''Maybe I can help you out.''

The blond pawn blinked once, then twice, his face turning uncharacteristically serious. ''What do you have in mind?''

''Well one of my spells allows me to analyze objects, it particularly seems to be very affective towards weapons.'' I explained to my fellow pawn, which was a pretty run down explication of what my structural grasping can do, but I highly doubt Saji wants to listen to the long version.

Even though I told him that, Saji looked rather indifferent. ''So? What does that have to do with anything?''

It seemed I had to do more explaining before I could help out. ''Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't sacred gears a type of weapon?''

He didn't answer immediately, letting what I said sit in, his eyes narrowing at me. ''Let me see if I get this straight. You're saying that you have a spell that can tell you what my sacred gear does?''

''In a sense, yes.'' I nodded slightly, which curiously made Saji face palm himself.

''I'm not sure if I should be excited that I get to find out what this damn thing does, or if should be annoyed that you took this long to suggest it.''

When he puts it like it that... it does kind of sound stupid. ''... Do you want my help or not?''

''Ok, I'll shut up.'' He shrugged as he took a deep breath. ''Have you ever done this before?''

''I did, but this will be the first time I used it on a sacred gear.''

I could see a small sweat drop running on his face. ''... Will it hurt?''

''No clue.'' I answered honestly, while I have been using it on all kinds of objects I stumbled across, I never used it on a sacred gear, though it's not like I had many chances to do so.

''That's reassuring.'' He shivered as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he opened them back, revealing the steel resolution present in them. ''Just get this over with.''

With a nod I agreed, placing my hand over the plating of his gauntlet, the neon green markings appeared on my hand and made its way all over his sacred gear, coating it with its light.

''Trace on!''

For a second everything seemed to go normal, but then everything went black.

* * *

This definitely wasn't normal.

Whenever I structural grasped an object I would always get a clear image in my mind, all of the information regarding its creation, materials, history and many other information's regarding it.

However, this was something that never happened before.

The moment I started receiving information about Saji's sacred gear everything just went dark, and next thing I know I woke up in this black void. My sense of time in this place is completely messed up, I can't tell if I've been here for minutes or for hours, it also didn't help that there isn't anything here. At some point I got bored of sitting in place and not doing anything so I started walking, hoping that I could find a way out of here, or at least some clue to where I even was in the first place.

So I walked and walked, feeling similar to floating in the sea, no telling where I may be headed. It slowly was becoming frustrating as I kept walking without any visible advancement, in a sense it felt like I was walking in circles.

Hope started rekindling when I heard something, it was the sound of running water. This made me rush my way towards the source. When I arrived there I could feel the water under my feet, making splashing sounds with each step that I took, but there was still nothing there. I took a moment and took a deep breath, stretching my hand sideways to relax my body.

It was at that moment that I felt something, it was hard and cold, the feeling of something sharp and edgy rubbing against my fingers… similar to the scales of an armor.

There was something very wrong here.

My heart began racing, my skin breaking down in cold sweat, breath turning unstable as a powerful scent shock my very core.

It was like that time when Vincent displayed his power, but this was far worse. In his case it was a matter of him showing some of his power, but this was different, the power was so intoxicating just by being too close to the source, without it even trying to show off. Not only that, this one feels older, much more massive and primal compared to anything I have ever felt before. It definitely didn't feel demonic in nature, but it was far scarier.

This is bad! I need to get away before something bad happens!

The moment I tried to backup I froze, feeling that I stepped on something. I gulped as my instincts were screaming that I just made a horrible mistake.

A shift was felt in the air, the thing under my foot slithered away, the ground itself shaking from the sudden movement.

I turned around and saw them, two thin glowing lines hanged in the air, aligned symmetrically with each other. The very next moment the lines seemed to open, giant purple orbs with long glowing slits in the center were revealed, illuminating the area around them.

I froze as I saw it.

A giant serpent like body coiled around itself, black scaly skin covering it, long sharp fangs that could grind diamonds to dust, brown antlers sprouting from its head, long whiskers flowing on its long snout, flowing black hair growing from the side of his cheeks and an amethyst like jewel was embedded in its forehead.

Oh fuck… now I know why I was feeling terrified of its presence.

 _It opened its mouth, a field of sharp fangs revealed for the world to see._

A creature that has been mentioned in history and myth all over the world since the dawn of man, a being that stands a top of all other creatures.

 _It roared._

A creature that you should never wake up the way I did.

 _A dragon._

* * *

''Gha!'' I gasped as my eyes snapped open, legs losing all strength and giving in on me, falling down on my knees, beads of cold sweat dripping off my face onto the gym floor.

The gym floor… so I was back. Just what the hell was that?

I lifted my head and was surprised to see Saji in a similar state to my own, his knees pressed against the floor, wasted and gasping for air, sweating running all over his terrified face. ''... Emiya what the hell did you do to me?''

After a couple of heavy breaths I managed to calm myself, staring unsure into the blonde pawns eyes. ''Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are.''

Even though I calmed down, Saji still looked shaken, gripping his shirt over his heart. ''It felt like my soul was about to be ripped in pieces.''

This wasn't a good sign that's for sure, one that I shared. For a moment it felt like something was breaking inside me as all the knowledge of his sacred gear invaded my mind.

Such a long history behind it, so much information within it, dating back before the time of Christ. Everything that I structural grasped before was small and insignificant compared to what I saw, mere pebbles in front of mighty mountains.

Even when I used it on Juuchi Yosamu which had quite a history itself, it still paled compared to the amount of information I received from his sacred gear.

I should be careful in the future when I structural grasp other sacred gears. I might just end up with a seizure.

That thought however vanished as the jewels on Saji gauntlet began shining in purple light. **''[No it wasn't, trust me I know how that feels.]** ''

For about a minute both Saji and I were silent and stared at the now talking gauntlet, this whole situation making my fellow pawn look like he just discovered he's crazy. ''Emiya, I don't know what you did to me, but I'm hearing voices from the gauntlet.''

''No... I'm also hearing it.'' I commented as I stared into the eye jewels of the sacred gear, my own eyes cringing as throbbing pain surged through my mind, the information I receive from it finally got processed and comprehended, eyes widening as I learned of the true nature of the weapon around his hand, about exactly what and who is swirling inside of it. ''The knowledge I received about the sacred gear... it's called Absorption line, and you are the Dragon King Vritra aren't you?''

The most curious thing is that when I heard his roar, the image of a weapon briefly flashed through my mind, a golden dart of some kind. It felt like it somehow responded to the appearance of Vritra.

 **''[Indeed I am.]''** He agreed briefly, voice sharp and deep, yet there wasn't any ill intent in its tone. **''[Child, I don't know what sort of magic you used, but it somehow managed to reawaken my consciousness from the depths of this God made prison, for that you have my gratitude.]''**

If I was expecting anything from him, getting thanked was the least on my list. Dragons are often depicted as rather proud creatures, humans looking like mere insects to most of them, so getting thanked by one, a dragon king nonetheless, it's kinda flattering in its own way. ''Magecraft actually, and you're welcome.''

''Ok... this is officially getting weird.'' Saji muttered as his eyes kept shifting between the gauntlet and me.

 **''[You should also thank him, other me. Normally I shouldn't have been able to awaken even if you trained yourself to the utmost limits.]''**

Saji narrowed his eyes, though confusion was still present in them. ''What you do you mean by that?''

He wouldn't know what he was talking about, yet I know from seeing the history of the gauntlet, more specifically the result of Vritra's final stand against the Hindu god of lighting. ''It's about how you got sealed isn't it?''

 **''[Correct, after that bastard Heavenly Emperor slayed my body he split my very soul into four fragments and scatter them far away from each other, only for the biblical God to take pity on me collect them.]''** His voice was coated in venom as he mention his killer, which I don't really blame him for, since because of him he had been reduced from a mighty dragon king to a prisoner of a sacred gear. **''[One would think someone of His power would reunite my soul into one, but He decided to seal each of the fragments into individual sacred gears.]''**

Huh… perhaps that's why the structural grasping went a bit different, since the very soul inside of the weapon is an incomplete existence.

 **''[The process put a heavy toll on me and the fragments were never able to become individually aware.]''** The old dragon sighed as the light of the jewels seemed to weaken. **''[Or that was the case until now, somehow your friend was able to awaken me, which I am grateful for.]''**

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say or do, in fact I'm not sure what I even did that somehow caused a fragment of a soul to regain some of its power back and become aware. The soul is the most delicate existence, something that if tampered the wrong way can cause irreparable damage. Sella was really adamant when she taught me about it, which I expected at some extend since the magic circuits don't exist in one's physical body, but rather in the soul of the person, and so any kind of tampering to one's magic circuits can be interpreted as tampering with ones very soul. Its reasons like this that circuits can't be transferred without the necessary means. In the end, conceptual damage to one's soul can affect ones circuits and by extension magically crippling a magus, but that's was enough about me, I looked back at the man of the hour. ''Well Saji... you should be happy, you have a famous dragon residing within your sacred gear.''

''While I want to just jump up and strike a cool pose, did you actually learn what this Absorption line does?'' The blond pawn asked in a perplex voice, clearly conflicted.

I sure did, and it's actually quite an interesting weapon. Absorption Line, also known as the Black Dragon Pulse, can produce a line from the mouth of the lizard gauntlet that can be used to restrain enemies, but that's only the surface strength, for its true power lies within its ability to drain the power from beings or objects it's connected to. It may seem simple, but it's far more versatile then it appears, for one thing if an opponent is above you in terms of power, by slowly draining him you weaken him and gain that power for yourself, shifting the tide of the battle. Another strong feature is that it can absorb certain magical enchantments or properties an opponent has, as such, if an opponent relies on different spells or magical abilities to increase their strength, Saji could very well absorb them and power himself up. Although that isn't without its own risks, as there may be things that may cause harm should he recklessly absorb, a former host of Absorption line for instance thought it was a good idea to absorb the light element of an angel to increase his power, completely disregarding the fact that he was a mixed blood, and part of his supernatural inheritance was a species that was vulnerable to light and holy element. The end result wasn't pretty at all.

While the gauntlet can only produce a single line at the moment, as the user gets stronger and more dexterous with the sacred gear, new lines will grow, giving the user the means to fight drain multiple opponents at the same. The line can also act as a pipeline and actually share the absorbed power with others who are connected by the line.

There was only one thing that I couldn't quite decipher, an ability that was currently locked away, one that just seemed to be blurred whenever I thought about it. While it was a little frustrating that I couldn't grasp it, I think that what I know at the moment is enough to give Saji something to work on. ''Well it can-''

 **''[No need to bother child, I shall take it from here.]''** He cut me off with quite a serious tone. I was half tempted to comment about this, but then I realized that if there's someone that can really teach Saji how to use his sacred gear, it would no doubt be the very being encased in it. While I know its history and what it's capable of doing, I still don't have a clear understanding about how sacred gears function in general. While they may be similar to mystic codes and conceptual weapons, heck some of them being on par with noble phantasm, they are still fundamentally different from them. To prove my point, I couldn't seem to understand how to replicate Saji sacred gear. Up until now I could project different kinds of weapons, and from what I gather sacred gears are in fact a type of weapon, so there shouldn't be a reason why I shouldn't be able to project them. I managed to structural grasp it just fine, hence why I learned all about it, but when I tried projecting it my mind just went blank. **''[ Other me, I will be blunt, you are quite the disappointment as a host and don't showcase any remarkable skills, but that will change from here as I will teach you how to handle my power.]''**

Well it was expected that Saji wasn't all that happy from the criticism, even though it's of the constructive type.''... I'm not sure what to say about the first part, but if you can make me stronger I'm all ears.''

 **''[Let us begin then. The first step we need to work on is your aim and overall control of the line. Try to ensnare that dummy with the line and use it to crush it.]''** Vritra explained in a teacher like manner, my eyes focusing on the training dummy that Tsubasa used earlier, the one she got from Sona, which for some odd reason appeared rather familiar, with long red hair might I add, and it seemed strangely feminine … nah, I must be imaging it.

I was curious to how Vritra will handle teaching Saji, the basic function of the Absorption Line is to be used as retractable cable, a magical enhanced one that can't be cut by regular means, in fact if the object used to cut against it isn't also magically enhanced it won't even make a nick in it.

Saji on one hand look rather impassive, as if his dragon partner just asked him to solve a quantum physics formula. ''How do I even do that? I can't even shoot it properly.''

A subtle grumble was heard from the gauntlet. **''[That's because you are not thinking how to do it the proper way. You need to stop thinking of your sacred as just a mere weapon, it is an extension of yourself, and you need to visualize the gauntlet as a part of your body. The line is your very tongue, you must open your mouth and use your tongue to circle your prey with it, crushing it before it can escape.]''**

''So mouth and tongue...'' He muttered as he reluctantly closed his eyes, raising his fist towards the dummy. The pawn didn't move at all from his spot, his facial muscles kept twitching and throbbing it was clear that this was taking quite the effort in order to get the right image in his mind. At some point he broke down in sweat, teeth gritting loudly against each other as the eyes of the gauntlet flashed. As such, the mouth piece of the lizard head opened the line rushed forward, circling against the dummy.

''Holy shit! It's working!'' Saji beamed proudly as his progress, yet the line started to move uncontrollably around the dummy.

 **''[Concentrate!]''** The dragon snapped, his hard voice startled Saji, but at the same time it was enough to make him go back into his focused state, the line becoming steady once more, digging in materials of the dummy. **''[Good! Now crush it with all your might!]''**

In response to the inspiring shout of Vritra, the blonde pawn doubled his efforts and refocused his vision, the line further constricting itself around the target. It was very similar to the way certain snakes envelop their prey and crush them to death with their body. The dummy wasn't a regular one, it was made with magically enchanted materials in order to be durable enough for non-humans to train with. Then with one final cracking sound, it broke down, the pieces all shattering and falling down on the floor, my disbelief clear as day. ''You did it...''

I was generally surprised by his achievement. It may seem like a small step to some, but compared to how he was before this was a great leap. If this was what Vritra could do with him in a few minutes, I can't wait to see what Saji will become after a couple of months of training under the legendary dragon. Speaking of which, Vritra seemed to have mixed emotions for how Saji performed, if his grumbling was any indication. **''[A bit rough around the edges, but it's a start. Now once you show progress I will teach you how to use it to absorb the power of your enemies.]''**

''It's still visible progress, don't you think Saji?'' I asked the man of the hour, while his new partner's words may not be the most encouraging ones, he seems to mean well. Curiously though the blond pawn was awfully silent and kept starring at what he did. ''Saji?''

He kept silent for a minute or so until he took in a very deep breath, exhaling loudly out his nose as a large grin reached his ears. ''I'm so touching myself tonight.''

Silence hanged around the air as I stared with a straight face at my fellow pawn, unsure of how to react. My only solace came when Vritra let out an exhausted growl. **''[... And this is the partner I got stuck with... maybe I'm lucky and Ddraig and Albion got it worse than me this time around.]''**

''... I'm just gonna walk somewhere else.'' I said I walked to whatever empty corner I could find, guess it will still be a long way until Saji changes his ways.

As I walked away I felt a nagging sensation in the back of my head, which I instantly knew what it meant. _**''Piece of advice kid, keep an eye on your friend over there.''**_

I'll be honest here, I was expecting some snarky remark from Mister tall, dark and grumpy. The fact that he was telling something remotely nice was a shocker. _''Since when do you care?''_

 _ **''I don't particularly care about your little devil buddies in general, but you should know from your little lectures and from what you read that dragons are very dangerous beings. Even if this one is currently sealed, we are still talking about a dragon that used to battle with the Hindu god Indra, one of the strongest and most revered gods in Hinduism. There's no telling what may happen in the future with that kid, so its best you keep your eyes sharp.''**_

When he puts it like that, he does make a valid point. _''So you're saying that one day Saji power may go out of control and I should be there to stop him?''_

 _ **''Exactly, but what I'm concerned about isn't the kid himself, but rather Vritra.''**_

I was taken a little aback by this. _''What do you mean?''_

 _ **''I try not to judge one by stories alone, but in most of the texts that have described Vritra, he was never one of the good guys. Those myths and legends may have made him look like pure evil just to further glorify Indra, it certainly wouldn't be the first nor the last time something like that happened, but its best to be extra cautions. The power of a dragon no matter how weak it may be is not something to underestimate, there's no telling how it will influence your friend. One day that power may become too much for him to handle and he will become a threat to everyone.''**_

That idea wasn't something I enjoyed imagining, while Saji and I still bicker from time to time, we did make some progress and I actually started thinking of him as a friend. The very concept of him losing control and turning into some blood thirsty monster is something I refuse to accept. _''… If that happens I will stop him, no matter what.''_

 _ **''Of course you will, it's who you are, isn't it?''**_ The amusement and hint of irony was all too present in his voice, but he was still quite serious. _ **''Let's just hope that day doesn't come, otherwise the child will have to face the excruciating pain of a dragon slayer.''**_

Those final words had an impact with them, the image of several swords flashing through my mind briefly, as if they responded to those said words.

Swords that were thirsty for dragon blood.

* * *

''Finally! I thought this day would never end!'' Tsubasa shouted as her head crashed in the desk, no doubt far too mentally exhausted to care anymore, something with I can understand at some level since the very moment we got back from our training we were greeted by a mountain of paper work that needed to be done. It's like somebody is secretly passing us their work or something from how fast it just keeps pilling up. That's something I should investigate when I get the chance.

''It wasn't so bad.'' Reya remarked with her usual warm tone, clearly trying to cheer up the blue haired rook of the team.

Saji on the other hand seemed to have thrown the towel a while ago, his face firmly stuck on the table and refusing to get back up. ''I agree, we had way shittier days than this.''

Perhaps I should offer a more positive opinion. ''I think it was a productive day.''

The response I got from the people around me was a collective cringe, the only exception being Sona and Tsubaki-senpai. The one that decided to comment at me was Momo. ''... You really need a hobby Shirou.''

Hey, I do have a hobby you know, I like cooking.

''Anyone here hungry?'' Tomoe cut in on the spot, obviously trying to change the subject.

I don't know how it what scientifically possible, but the moment she asked that a collective stomach grumbling could be heard, Ruruko laughing nervously while looking to the side. ''I think it's easier to ask who isn't hungry.''

''Let's all go for pizza!'' Tomoe shouted.

''Nah, I'm in the mood for a burger.'' Tsubasa remarked.

''Hey it's my turn to decide, and I say ramen.'' Momo complained.

''What about you, Shirou?'' Reya asked me, the feeling of betrayal lingering in me as I stared at the braided girl.

Since so many eyes were now on me, there was only one variable solution, bullshit my way out. ''I'm fine with whatever you chose.''

''Big help there, that's for sure.'' Saji snarked, though his face was still glued to the table.

''Kaichou you decide where we should go.'' Since this game of bickering ideas was going nowhere, Momo seemed to decide to leave the final word to the biggest authority of the group.

The girl in question was rigid for a few moments, rearranging her glasses as she looked uninterested at us. ''... Really? You want me to decide for you?''

''Yes!'' the girls all said in unison, making our king appear perplexed.

Our king crossed her arms as she began contemplating, her eyes landing shortly on her trustful queen. ''Tsubaki, you chose for them.''

This caused a visible flinch from the vice-president, Sona apparently not having the mood to deal with our bickering. ''M-Me?''

''Well... how about-''

She went silent as a magic circle appeared on the floor, a very familiar one I might add. It hasn't been even a full day and we are getting once again a visit from a rather unwelcomed guest. As the circle flashed and the light died down Segrif Zepar was standing here between us, his female companion close behind him, Shahnaz if I'm not mistaken.

If the last time he visited only the air of superiority and arrogance was present around him, this time however he seemed rather calm and stoic while his companion seemed rather troubled and I couldn't help but notice some bruising on her face.

While I was honestly was more concerned about the woman's state, Segrif stepped forward with a neutral smile on his face. ''I see you are doing fine on this lovely dusk.''

Even though he appeared to show no ill intent, everyone from the student council gathered behind our president and master, all prepared to jump in should he try to pull something.

''Segrif... I honestly didn't expect to see you again so soon.'' His former fiancée glared at him with a calculative stare, her eyes never leaving him alone. ''Last time I checked you aren't allowed to court me anymore, so I'm curious to what do I owe the pleasure of the visit.''

''Cold as always.'' He commented rather nonchalant, though I could see it in his eyes that he didn't enjoy how Sona was rubbing salt on the wound. ''Unfortunately I didn't drop with the intention of bothering you with that old problem.''

This made my master to further narrow her eyes dangerously at him. ''Then why did you come?''

The Zepar heir was silent, his facial muscles giving away his struggle to answer that question, only after his eyes drifted to the side and he sighed tiredly did he answer. ''To apologize.''

All coldness in her eyes vanished and was replaced by confusion. ''Pardon?''

''You heard me, after calming down and reflecting on the events that have transpired I came to the conclusion that I might have acted unbecoming as both a gentleman and as a fiancée.'' Surprisingly the man did a court bow to further emphasize his regret. ''For that I want to properly apologize and try to repair what I have ruined. While we may never be together in matrimony, I would still like to keep a good relationship between us.''

This definitely caused a rift in the room, the people beside me whispering stuff like 'Bullshit.', 'He must be after something.', 'Something smells fishy.', and so on. Which I had to agree on, since it was way too fast and convenient for him to come and apologize since the whole incident with him happened only yesterday. Now I may not know him very well, but it seems way too fast for him to just forgive and forget, a feeling which my master was obviously sharing. ''Am I supposed to believe all of that?''

The man in question seemed unaffected at first, but his lips slowly curled upwards into a crude smile, breaking down into a powerful laughter.

''Very well, you caught me.'' He replied in between laughs, going on for a couple of more seconds before composing himself and going back to his serious side. ''As you can imagine I have a reputation and standing within the underworld aristocracy just as you do. Now when word gets out that you no longer are my fiancée, people will wonder how it came down to it, and with the way rumors and gossip flows around it will be a matter of time before everyone learns of my defeat.''

He took a moment of pause to take a deep breath, a glint of annoyance present in his eyes. ''Because of this I would ask of you to keep the details of what has transpired here a secret, and instead tell people it was a mutual agreement between us.''

Sona took a moment a processed all of this, giving a small nod as her lips curled into an all knowing smirk. ''I see, so in other words you want to protect your public image.''

Segrif in response scoffed all too slightly. ''I think it would be in both our best interest if everything is kept between us, after all you do know that the media is like a starved hyena when they set their eyes on possible scandals. The last thing I want is to have them watch my every step, something which I'm sure you also don't want.''

For a second Sona opened her mouth to rebut him, but stopped before talking, cupping her chin and contemplating, clearly agreeing at some level with what her former fiancée was trying to point out. ''... That would be rather obnoxious to deal with.''

To this, a small smile formed on the Zepar heir's face, a smile that I honestly was finding obnoxious. He waved his hand to the side, a magic circle appearing in the air, from it a small gift box dropped off, landing gently in Segris hands, extending it towards the girl that was once his fiancée. ''This might not be much, but please accept this gift as a small peace offering.''

I can't say that I know Sona that well, but from the time we spent together I could gather how her mind works from time to time, and judging by how she looked now, she was quite taken aback by this whole situation. ''... You didn't have to bother.''

''No, I insist, please accept it.'' He almost pleaded, the very hands holding the box trembling and sweating all too slightly, clearly giving away his agitated state. ''It's my way of making sure everything goes the way it should.''

That does it, something definitely isn't right here, the way he is acting seems wrong judging by how he was yesterday, I can understand that this is matter of convenience than genuine regret, but it still feels wrong to me, also that box… there was something about it that gave me bad vibes.

Sona let out a tired sigh as she accepted the box. ''... Fine, you win.''

''Indeed.'' Segrif smirked viciously as he placed his hand over his mouth and nose.

My instincts kicked in, dread filing me as the worst case scenarios popped in my mind. I structural grasped the box and its contents, my blood feeling like it turned cold as I saw what was in it. ''No! Don't open it!''

I tried reaching out to her and separate her from the box, but I wasn't fast enough, Segrif already having snapped his fingers and triggered the spell place on the box. ''Too late.''

Too late indeed… a second away to be exact, my hand almost touching the box that exploded, green smoke filling the room, affecting everyone present with the exception of Segrif and his companion. It was heavy and bitter, my throat and lungs feeling like they were drying out from inhaling the smoke. Everyone from the student council stared passing out one by one, only a few of us managing hang on a little more than the others. ''W-What is this smoke?!''

Even I couldn't hang on for long, my body weakening and giving up on me, vision going blurry as I tried to stop the man who brought this smoke bomb here. Everything was spinning around me, my movements being sluggish as I projected Kanshou and strike Segrif, only to fall down on the floor as he wasn't even there, just my vision tricking me.

''Gah!'' I gasped in pain as I felt the heel of his boot stomp into my chest, body far too weak to even grasp my sword.

When I looked up I saw the feral look of dominance present in his eyes, corners of his mouth all the way to his ears, showcasing the sick satisfaction he was feeling. ''Not so defiant anymore are we?''

I tried lifting his leg but couldn't must enough strength even by reinforcing myself. Hope was flowing further away as I saw the state the others were, the only one still struggling to stay conscious was Sona, her eyes glaring dangerously at the ''S-Segrif, what is the m-meaning of this?!''

Sinister chuckles were heard as he walked over to Sona, cupping her face with his hand all while whispering at her ear. ''Retribution.''

I was passing out, body already giving up on me, my eyes were completely in the mist, the only thing still functioning being my ears.

''I believe you had a phrase for moments like this.'' I could hear his condescending laugh weakly as the last remains of consciousness were fading away. ''Oh right, check mate.''

God dammit.

* * *

 **Omake: Taming a hell cat**

''So was everything okay Koneko?'' Rias Gremory asked as she finally finished her daily stack of paper work. She just couldn't fathom how Sona always managed to do her share in record time and not go nuts from it, not only that but her amount wasn't even a quarter of the amount that her said friend does. It also didn't help how smug Sona always is when she sees her still having paperwork to do, but jokes on her, with a couple of right spells she managed to push part of her paperwork to her without Sona or her peerage even realizing. She can't wait for her to realize what she did and laugh about how she didn't figure it out.

She took a second to glance over at her small servant and noticed her opening a lunch box. To be fair seeing Koneko eating was nothing new, in fact it was a bad sign if she saw her adorable rook without something to munch on in her spare time, yet she didn't remember her owning such a lunch box, her usual one being white with small pink hearts on it.

''Yep.'' The white haired girl commented as she split up her chopsticks and once again inspected the lunch box. At first glance it seemed ok, and the smell certainly was telling her to dig right in, but she just didn't understand how someone could give up their lunch just like that to someone they barely know. ''Had a run in with Emiya-senpai.''

''Is that so?'' Rias hummed as she arranged her papers, missing the moment when her little servant took a bite of the food.

'' Nyaaa~!'' A sudden purring got her attention, eyebrows launching themselves into her hair line as she looked bewildered at her rook. ''Koneko?''

Koneko looked back at her master confused by her reaction, unaware that on her head two white cat ears were twitching and a matching white tail was wiggling excitingly behind her back. She didn't knew what was going on and at the moment she couldn't care one bit since there was a party being held in her mouth each time she took a bite of the food. Whatever distrust she may have had about Shirou had vanished after the first bite, the food was that good!

''A-Are you ok?'' The redhead beauty asked perplex, unsure of what to think of the situation.

The cat girl beamed at her with a radiating smile. ''Never been better! It's just this food is soooo good!''

Its official something was definitely wrong here. Her little Koneko was usually a stoic person even when it came to eating, even when eating delicacies at devil gatherings made by the best chefs the underworld had ever seen, she would only eat in silence, never reacting the way she did moments ago. Did Emiya Shirou add some kind of drug or narcotic to make her rook react like this?

She had to get to the bottom of this, as such she walked behind Koneko and smiled innocently at her. ''Can I try a bite then?''

At this the tiny rook's eyes went wide, shifting between her master and the lunch box. After a minute of contemplating she picked up a piece of the food and lifted it for Rias to try, only for her master to step back when she saw the look on her face. Eyes wide and tear filled, lips shivering lightly, the hand holding the chopsticks trembling in fear.

Rias couldn't help but sweat drop at what she was seeing, feeling like an actual devil for trying to take food away from such an adorable little thing.

Oh wait… she was a devil.

Somewhere else, a certain redhead magus felt a shiver run down his back. It was on that day Emiya Shirou gained what he could only describe as a food stalker.

* * *

 **Omake: It's A Real Thing! Taiga Dojo Preview!**

''Should I even bother anymore?'' Taiga commented with a bored expression.

''What do you mean instructor?'' Illya asked confused.

The tiger like woman snorted. ''It's been over two months since the last update… is Ray even trying anymore to write this story?''

''Well it's not the worst he ever did. I recall he once took more than 3 months to update the story.'' Illya remarked.

This remark only triggered Taiga. ''Bullshit! Back when he was writing 'Guardian of DxD' he was posting chapters weekly.''

''To be fair they were rather sub par, back then he was just brainstorming his way through chapters to catch up to the top ranked writes of this crossover. He wasn't really thinking ahead of what he was doing and his grammar errors were so much worse than they are now. If one goes and reads that story then goes and reads 'A fake hero', he will definitely wonder if it really was written by the same person. Oh, and back there he wasn't working so…'' Miyu elaborated.

''I still call it bullshit.' Taiga roared. ''We waited for so long and we get another cliff hanger, so who knows how long it will take for the next chapter!''

''At least next chapter we're getting battles right?'' Miyu asked.

''Yep, and with it we should be getting new noble phantasms.'' Illya replied.

''Stay tuned for next chapter!'' Illya and Miyu said in sync.

''CHECK IT OUT!''

* * *

 **Author notes:**

 **Ok so its a while... again...**

 **Well things happened and i couldn't really get to write that much. Work has been a bitch that's for sure. Turned 23 in February... so that's a thing now... wonder how will it be before reality hits me and i stop doing this stuff... hope it will be after i finish this story.**

 **My grandma apparently died 2 weeks ago, lung cancer. The whole thing was expected and i had time to prepare myself emotionally. The weird part is that when she died i wasn't as sad as i thought i would be, actually in my mind i was somewhat glad that she died and didn't have to suffer anymore. Does that make a bad person? I mean i loved my grandma and whenever i saw her in the state she was i would always get depressed, so is it wrong for me to be glad that she died and didn't have to suffer anymore?**

 **Depressing topics aside, l ets point out some stuff, this chapter wasn't all that important to the grand scheme of things but it was an intermediary chapter for the next arc and for the next 3 or chapters we will be battle oriented, also a couple of small things that will be important later. Some may complain that i could have skipped a lot of stuff and just jumped into the battle segments, but there's a certain pacing to everything.**

 **Further explaining some stuff this chapter, like my interpretation of how devil magic works. It may be legit, or incorrect, but this is i see it working. Also the scene with vritra may seem a bit of a stretch, Shirou awakening him like that, but this is Shirou, the man with a world of weapons inside of him. But hey this is dxd, there is a lot of more bullshit stuff out there.**

 **Just watched the first episode of highschool dxd hero and i can say i'm pretty ok with it. The fact that they are following the light novels this time is good, thought for some reason i prefer the season 3 version of the fight with issei and shalba. Maybe its the new animation, need some time to get used to it.**

 **Anyhow... hope next chapter will be out sooner, i really hate making you guys wait that long.**

* * *

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

 **YuukiAsuna-Chan: I'll be honest, you have all the reason to be skeptic about this whole fiancée idea, but trust me I'm not rehashing the whole Riser arc, things will be different. Plus I will try my best to make this guy less one dimensional than Riser was.**

 **naovan10: Actually I do, while its nice for Shirou to have a normal friend, I have read very few stories in which Ayako is made more relevant. I want to give my favorite tomboy more screen time since she barely gets any (I mean after you watch UBW episode 4 you get the impression that Ayako will have some role in the story by how she is able to see behind Shirou's mask, but after that she is pretty much thrown under the bus)**

 **DPSS: Actually when I was making his design in my mind I did took inspiration for him, thus why I called him Vincent. But don't be mistaken, this guy's powers and personality aren't anything alike.**

 **jason wu: I can see why you would think that, even i think that from time to time, but while it seems like a rehash, I'm trying to do something a bit different. When the arc is over you can just let it go and complain how pointless or waste of time it was. Or maybe by the end you will have enjoyed it, it's all a matter of perspective. The facebook scene may have seemed pointless but I really wanted to do that whole kiritsugu grumpy cat scene and couldn't find any other way to do it.**

 **Lance Eterna: Well he is probably the most iconic butler in anime so it's no surprise that i took inspiration from him.**

 **Starlight's Poet: He tends to forget stuff when he is angry it would seem. Though to be fair Riser never seemed to have a problem doing the same with Rias, and we all KNOW what kind of person her brother is. In other news, let's just say that Segrif will very soon see firsthand why he shouldn't piss off Serafall.**

 **Arc-Angel-Of-Fire: Well most crossovers with dxd tend to focus a little more on other characters rather than Issei. I mean look at A Demon lord's hero, Issei barely made any appearances and he got the shaft from the author and give his boosted gear to an different character, and yet that story is still the #1 in fsn/dxd crossover section. In my case Issei hasn't really appeared since the canon timeline hasn't started yet, as in Raynare hasn't killed him yet. Also your concern about the Sitri team is legit since they weren't really that showcases in the canon, but that's the beauty in it since I can develop them myself and give them character. About rule breaker, it would pretty much eject the evil pieces and erase ones contract with his master, so in perspective if Shirou will ever want to go AWOL, he can just stab himself and turn stray.**

 **EternalKing: Well in my opinion Shirou's denseness is tied to his distortion, he feels attraction to women and finds many of them beautiful, but his trauma makes it hard for him to comprehend that women would actually have feelings for him. So it may not be that he doesn't notice a woman's affection, he just writes it off as something else. It's somewhat similar to a real life case I saw, a boy from my school had an accident as a child and a good portion of his face was scarred for life, and it became something physiological to him, he couldn't really comprehend women liking him when he looked the way he did, when in fact some girls liked him for his personality.**

 **JohnTitor: Well their just name drops, they're not gonna have any actual relevance. The problem with getting an Emiya family setting is finding a plausible explanation for it. While it's nice to read about, many readers will like to know how it happened.**

 **Paxloria: If I were to be honest I'd say he is more of a cross between Sebastian Michaels and Walter C. Donez, with the looks of Vincent Valentine.**

 **Dark Durian: I'm thinking maybe 4 or 5 new weapons to raise the hype. About his pawn, I can't outright tell who it is, but what I can tell you is that it's a canon character from DxD, the clue to who it is lies in its number of pawns used on him.**

 **Dareth: Glad to be back. While I do love that story, and pretty much everything Parcasious writes, I have just one single complain, he always seems to make Shirou way too 'detached' so to say. The intriguing part about the character of Shirou Emiya is his normal appearance. Not physical but mental, as you see him go through his everyday life you can't really call him anything but a normal teenager, but as you peel those layers off you see the fundamentally broken person under them, even though there are times when shirou is more machine than human, he is able to hid it all and appear normal, like a machine on the inside, but on the outside a flesh body (lol like a terminator). So my only complaint is that he is making Shirou seem too detached about what is taking place around him. Sorry about this mini rant, don't know where it came from.**

 **Shironak: Well you are just about right over there. I plan to make Ayako more relevant, but in order to do that, Ayako will have to go through some nasty shit.**

 **claire nunnaly: That I can't do… yet. Yes it will, it's a dxd crossover isn't it?**

 **ullmetal11791: Well I can get where you are going with this but trust me, I have a plan for those lines and there are not foreshadowing what will happen in the future. They have a special role, something which will be revealed much later with the appearance of a certain character. But overall if you find them a pain, don't just read them, you aren't obligated to do so. Anyway I'm not planning a tragedy here, sure I will probably put the characters through a lot of shit as the story runs, but I won't make it a tragedy. I want to show the rise of a hero, one who wasn't anything more than a fake hero, become a real one.**

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, I could use some constructive criticism.**


	12. Shackled Hands

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this** _ **.**_

* * *

 _What was I even doing?_

 _I was making the same mistakes he did._

 _If I truly wanted to make things right, I had to do things another way._

 _I had to carve a different path._

 _Nurture, not destroy._

 _That was now my quest._

* * *

 **Chapter 12:**

 **Shackled hands**

* * *

I was here again, in the dream scape.

Once again I relived the fires in which I died and from which I was reborn as Emiya Shirou. Over and over again I saw it, only this time the fire and death weren't the only things I saw. The images of unknown people appeared and flashed through my mind… no calling them merely people was an insult, they were far beyond human comprehension, I was sure of it. The sad part was that it happened all so fast that I could never get a full picture of what I was truly seeing, only fleeting glimpses of what I saw remained behind. All of them were like works of art.

 _Steel_ … Shining shards shattering and vanishing in the air around a red bowman.

 _Blood_ … small drips of crimson falling from the tip of a red spear, the same shade as its owner's eyes.

 _Cracks_ … the earth itself splitting under the overwhelming weight of a grey giant.

 _Embers_ … Purple wisps of light dancing around the hooded form of a witch.

 _Chains_ … Their sound lingering as a woman's purple hair flowed in the night wind.

 _Leaves_ … Drifting and splitting in half as they fell around a lonely samurai.

 _Ripples_ … Golden gates opening around a man who was shining with the very same brilliance.

 _Wind_ … Acting as a veil to conceal the weapon of a knight in blue, for only those few worthy ones were allowed to see it.

 _The whispers of a gentle voice lingering. ''Shirou, I-''_

* * *

 _Thunk!_

Ahhh… Man! This must be the mother of all headaches I'm having!

 _Thunk!_

That nagging sound certainly wasn't making it hurt any less that's for sure.

 _Thunk!_

Everything felt just so dizzy. What happened? Why is it so dark in here? And just what is pressing against my face?

It felt really soft and warm… like two perfect pillows, the kind that make you want to stay in bed all day on a quiet Sunday morning. Surprisingly, this sensation felt rather familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger from where I knew it.

I backed my head a little and saw what I was pressing my head against… or rather it was more precise to say _whom_ I was pressing my head against. There, right in front of me stood Tsubaki-senpai with a strained frown, her face beet red and sweating, and looking like she was a step away from biting my head off.

''I-It's about time you woke up Shirou. N-Now that we are all awake we can discuss what our next move should be. '' She explained while trying to maintain her composure, mind the word trying, the way her voice was just a few decibels away from squeaking didn't really help her.

Somehow my mind took a bit more time than it usually did to process what was going on, I blinked once, then twice, my eyes drifting downwards, and carefully examining the current position I was finding myself in along with our groups long haired Queen. Both of us were on the floor, my lower body in between her legs, my right knee at just a paper thin distance between her sacred region, and with my head firmly planted in her chest just a couple seconds ago.

In any other circumstance this promiscuous position we were in could lead any random person that just happened to walk in on us to assume that we were about to engage in some, "shameless activities" as Sella liked to put it.

My reaction once I processed all of this information in my head was pretty visible… and vocal.

''Gyahhh!'' As much as I didn't want to, I couldn't keep myself from screaming like a little girl when I tried backing up in my desperate the attempt to put some distance between, only to trip and fall backwards while my head hit something metallic on the way down.

If before I had a nasty headache now it went up a couple of ranks higher. After about a minute of squirming around in pain I finally calmed down and tried to figure out just what the hell was going on. Looking around I saw that everyone from the student council with the exception of our master was currently cuffed and locked in some kind of old cell.

I tried lifting my hand to rub my eyes, but found myself unable to do so. Of course, it makes sense that if everyone was in shackles I would be in the same situation. How I noticed this only now was beyond me. With an exhausted sigh I looked around for some answers. ''So… how did this happen?''

By the sour expressions on their faces I was pretty much rubbing salt on the wound with that question, Tsubasa for one really seemed pissed by it. ''Well it seems that Segrif guy really pulled a fast one on us and knocked us out cold with that smoke.''

It was in that moment that I suddenly recalled everything, the previous events flashing through my mind like lightening, Segrif visiting us, opening that trap box with the gas that was released, everyone passing out from it, and… my failure to stop him.

''Dammit!'' My teeth violently gritted against each from the utter frustration of letting something like happen. ''If only I could've stopped him.''

''No one is blaming you Shirou, we had no way of knowing he was going to pull a stunt like this.'' Reya told me with a sad tone, while she may have tried to cheer me up, she still couldn't mask her own feelings about this whole situation.

Her words may have meant well, but they didn't really have any effect, it didn't change the fact that if I was just a bit more careful we wouldn't have ended in this mess. ''Maybe… but if I was just a little faster in my thinking or moving I might have prevented all of this.''

''Oh shut up will you!'' Tsubasa snapped, eyes filled with rage and frustration, her harsh glare directed towards me. ''If you have the time to be all mister 'Oh no! This is all my fault!' then use that thick emo head of yours to get us out of here.''

I looked at the bluenette for a couple of seconds, this being the first time I saw her ever get this angry. Sure there were other times when she would be pretty 'bitchy' as Saji would put it but never this angry. Though I wanted to think otherwise, she was absolutely right, now was not the time to stay like this. For now I had to focus on breaking everyone out of here, find Sona, and then I could apologize to her. ''…You're right.''

I checked my surroundings again this time noticing the many claw like marks on the walls. There were many sets with different lengths and sizes throughout the room, indicating that this cell was probably used to cage some kind of beasts. There were no windows or openings towards the outside, on the other side of the bars were other cells all aligned throughout a dark corridor, but so far no signs of any cameras or guards around. Knowing this, it was raising a series of questions to ask but first. ''How long were we out?''

''About three hours or so.'' Momo explained, which made me raise a brow, a reaction that didn't go unnoticed by the white haired bishop so she continued on with her explanation. ''I saw the time on Ruruko's watch.''

Hmm… the time elapsed was rather short, not enough had passed to make people go and wonder where we disappeared off to. School was over when Segrif knocked us out cold so no student could have noticed that we were gone and called for help. My family probably won't start to worry about me for at least a couple of more hours since it wouldn't be the first time I arrived late at home and didn't give any call.

Relying on others at the moment seems like a useless idea. ''Do any of you have an idea where we are?''

''My guess is the wastelands from the Zepar territory, right next to the Bael territory.'' Tsubaki-senpai explained in her usual calm tone, though this time she was sporting a prominent blush on her face while she was obviously avoiding eye contact with me, not that I blame her after I pretty much felt most of her body.

''Is that so…'' I muttered as I contemplated on this little piece of information. So I'm in Hell I guess… never thought I would end up here like this, no, scratch that, I never thought I would ever end up in this whole supernatural mess in the first place. That aside there was something amiss here. ''Wait, how do you know where we are?''

''When they were carrying us down here I was half awake and managed to see out a window. There was a dessert of red sand outside, and the only place in the underworld that has red sands is the wastelands I mentioned.''

The explanation provided by our team's queen was interesting to say the least, but raised a new question along the way, one that seemed to be shared by Tomoe as she got to ask before me. ''Why is that?''

''It's a bit of a urban legend, or something similar. From what I know a long time ago the former heirs of the Zepar and Bael house were engaged and supposed to get married, but only that the Bael heir fell in love with the heir of another house at the time. Because they couldn't just cancel their engagement they decided to solve everything the old fashioned way with a duel. Should the Bael heir win the engagement was off, should Zepar heir win then they had to go through the whole thing, no more questions asked. The scions of the two houses fought in this dessert to decide things once and for all ending with the Bael heir winning the fight. The aftermath of their fight remained in the form of this desert since so much blood was shed it soaked itself in the sand staining it, and it remained like that ever since.''

Huh, so there were sentimental problems among the arranged marriages even long before any of the young, more libertine generations were even born. Well I can't really blame them since I doubt that everyone is content with an arranged marriage, true there is a chance the two parties involved may one day develop actual feelings for the other and bloom into actual love, but chances for that to happen are pretty thin in my opinion. I think that complaints about not liking the person they're about to marry one day seems pretty justified.

About the whole story regarding the old heirs there were mixed reactions from what I could see, while everyone seemed generally impressed with it Tsubasa didn't seem to buy it. ''Wow, that's pretty hardcore and all, but I call bullshit, there's no way two people can bleed so much to turn a desert red, devil or not.''

''Not necessarily.'' Reya cut in, giving me the chance to take a better look at her and how her braids looked like they were about to come apart if she tried to move suddenly, must have been a result of the wrought way she was carried here. ''If I'm not mistaken, the Zepar house trait is the creation of chimeras, if the heir at the time brought with him a legion of them to fight with him, it would be possible to turn the whole dessert red.''

There was a long silence among us, quiet enough for us to hear the gulp from Tsubasa. ''Shit… that Bael person must've been a beast to beat both him and that many chimeras.''

The groups Queen gave a small nod in response. ''Quite, the Bael's house power of destruction isn't something to take lightly. Especially if used by someone like the previous heir, the title she received at the time of Brunette Ruin Princess wasn't just for show.''

Well this was good to know, at least I won't be surprised if Segrif snaps a finger and a dozen of chimeras jump on me for an all you can eat red head buffet… wait… chimeras?

I shifted from my seat and looked at the group still busy with their story telling. ''Wait, back up a little. You said that the Zepar house can create chimeras? As in the Chimera from the Greek myth?''

As I recently learned that most myths are real, or at least real at some point off as such I began studying as much I could about all kinds of creatures and people from mythology. The chimera in particular was one of the many children of the Titan Typhon and the monster Echidna, a creature that was an amalgamation of different animals. It was said to have the body and head of a lion, a goat's head growing on its back, with a snake for its tail, and possessing the power to throw blazing flames out of its mouth.

A monster that terrorized the lands of Lycia for many years, as such the king of the time Iobates called for the aid of one of the sons of Poseidon, the Greek hero Bellerophon.

Bellerophon didn't confront the Chimera directly as he knew that the monsters breath would burn anyone before they could get close enough to injure it. By mounting the Pegasus in battle, Bellerophon took the battle to the sky fighting the Chimera from above, raining arrows and spears upon it. Yet, they all failed as the creature's infernal breath would always turn the projectiles to ash just moments before it even reached the monsters mouth. It was only after Bellerophon attached a lump of lead to the tip of his spear that he killed the beast, as when it tried to burn the spear, the lead turned liquid from the intensity of the heat, pouring down its very throat, and burning the monsters insides.

It worried me that such we could be facing such a creature. The one who answered my curiosity was our team's faux white haired bishop. ''Actually the term chimera is pretty lose, it usually refers to creatures formed by the merging of two or more dissimilar living beings into a new, complete form displaying attributes of its "components". It's pretty debatable if the term came from the beast of Greek myth, or if it was the other way around and the beast not having any name of its own was given the description of a chimera and due to the fame it got over the years people stared associating the term with its actual name, the creature and the term becoming synonymous with each other. In fact there are many supernatural creatures that can be categorized as chimeras by how their anatomy is.''

Huh… when she puts it like that it does make sense. From what I read there are quite the number of 'merged together' creatures that could be considered chimeras as well, like the manticore or the griffin. ''Anyhow chimeras are pretty nasty things to deal with from what I heard, even if you identify all the creatures that compose its bodies there are still chances that there might still be unknown components inside of its body.''

''I heard that there are farms that grow chimeras for food. Like you can make ones meat have the flavor of pork, the texture of beef, and the lightness of chicken.'' Ruruko commented casually.

While I am a man who doesn't back down when it comes to food topics now wasn't the time for that.

''Can we please get back on the problem at hand?'' I spoke up to the group, my tone wasn't harsh but it also wasn't nice on the ears. ''We need to find a way and break out of here.''

 _Thunk!_

Curiously the sound that woke me up started again, but I didn't focus on that since Tsubasa was drilling holes in my head with her annoyed glare. ''Oh, geez I didn't thought about that when we all tried breaking these damn shackles.''

 _Thunk!_

The others seemed to lose moral as they heard our rook's reality check. Momo for one exhaled heavily and looked at me with depressed eyes as she began to explain. ''The shackles are magically enchanted Shirou, sealing away the flow of demonic energy in our bodies. With them on we are no better than regular humans.''

Oh… that makes sense, why else would they all be chained down here and not make any attempt to break out.

 _Thunk!_

''Tell that to Saji.'' Tsubasa rolled her eyes and pointed with them to the bars of the cell.

There he stood, on his knees with his hands behind his back, but that didn't stop him. One time after another he smashed his head against the metal bars, not caring about the open wound on his forehead, the blood rushing out of it, or the possible concussion he might have caused himself by repeatedly bashing his head against the cage that locked us all in. ''Saji what you doing?!''

He stopped half-way from delivering another blow to the bars, head slowly turning around, eyes enraged and glaring at me. Now that he was facing me directly I got to saw the extent of his facial wounds, so many bruises and cuts present on his face. ''Trying to get out!''

Even though it was obvious what he was doing, the fact that he was basically mutilating himself to break out was far too reckless even for him. ''Stop that you're hurting yourself!''

He didn't listen, his teeth gritting in frustration. ''Screw you! I'm not sitting around doing nothing!''

 _Thunk!_

He smashed his head against the bars once again, drops of blood splattering on the nearby wall.

''We tried to get him to stop but he won't listen, even after we told him that even if he managed to break those bars we can't do anything without the key to these damn things.'' Tsubaki-senpai remarked, her voice giving away the frustration she was feeling from being forced to watch this yet not being able to do anything to stop it.

The pawn was preparing to give the bars another taste of his head, but judging by how his wounds looked it would no doubt make them even worse. I got up and tried to dash to stop him, yet I froze half-way as I saw Ruruko tackle him… or at least attempted to do so since her hands were shackled too, so it was more among the lines of her head slamming against the chest of her fellow pawn. After squirming on the floor with him for a bit she finally managed to pick herself up, keeping Saji underneath her, his shoulders pinned down by her knees, yet her expression looked strained and hurt. ''Saji-senpai that's enough!''

He didn't seem to listen to her. ''Let me be! I-''

She didn't let him finish and cut him right off, pulling her face closer to his. ''No! If you really want to save Kaichou then stop hurting yourself and help us figure something out!''

He gritted his teeth and struggled for a bit until his features finally relaxed and softened. Saji's eyes staring directly into the ones of the girl currently sitting on him. ''… Fine, but only if you come up with some other way to break out of this shit hole.''

His words certainly brought back the heavy atmosphere in the room, which was somewhat expected, the fact that everyone present was shackled with cuffs that prevented us from using demonic energy was the true dilemma we were all facing.

Moments passed as I tried to think of ways out of our current predicament. However I brushed everything aside when I heard the sound of footsteps, getting louder and closer to us with every step. Before I knew it a man appeared on the other side of the bars.

He was obese looking man, messy black hair atop of his large and swelled head, a thick mustache dancing underneath his nose as he seemed to breath in deeply the air in from the cage. A disgusting smile forming on his lips as he scanned the room, his squinty eyes brightening whenever they landed on any one of the girls.

''Well, well, it's about time you kids woke up, I was getting quite tired of waiting.'' The man replied with a snicker, a strained and deep voice echoing. It was the kind you would hear from one that has smocked his lungs out.

''Who the hell are you supposed to be?'' Tsubasa asked the man, quite visibly irritated that she even had to look at him.

''Me? Oh, I guess you can call me your warden for the time being.'' He commented casually while resting his elbows against the cell bars. ''No need for such hostile glares, my orders are to make sure you all stay put until my master is done 'talking' with your little mistress.''

This little bit of information startled all of us, it was just as we feared, Sona was with Segrif right now, and the bastard doing God knows what to her.

''Where is she?!'' Tomoe snapped at the man, getting the full attention of his small eyes.

''Who knows, it's not like knowing where she is will do you any good since last time I checked you're locked it this cell.'' He commented offhandedly as he licked his lips, a carnal hunger present in his eyes as he looked at each girl in the cell. ''However, I might remember where she is if perhaps one of you lovely young things show me a good time.''

That last statement caused all the girls to go pale, terror present in their eyes as they understood what the man was implying. Ruruko for one hid behind Saji in an attempt to avoid the man's perverted stare, while Tsubasa gritted her teeth in anger. The desire to pummel the man in the face was all too present on her face.

''You sick bastard…'' Momo commented detachedly as she backed away from her spot, the remark shifting the man's focus from everyone else to her alone, and a sick grin began spreading all the way across his face to his ears as he stared at the white haired bishops every curve.

''Well, I guess diplomacy is out of the way.'' He commented as he placed his hand on the cell door and a magic circle appeared from it. ''Then let's get a little freaky.''

I gasped as the air around me suddenly became heavier, my body feeling cold and sluggish, similar to moving under water. At first I didn't understand what he did, but as I recalled our current location I realized what the magic circle from before was for.

This was cell or arguably a cage, if the marks on the walls were any indication this place, was used to keep beasts in. So it wouldn't be too far fetched to speculate that this place had some kind of spell placed on to keep the beasts more tame and subdued.

A spell he just activated and used on us, restraining our movement, and seemingly pinning us all down on the floor before him.

As I tried to lift myself up, I saw the man put around his neck some weird sort of necklace before he opened the cell door and walked in without a care in the world, unaffected by the spell within it.

I gritted my teeth as I saw the man walk up to Momo, the later shaking in pure fear as she tried moving away but failed to find the power to do so. The disturbing laugh of the man was making me feel impulses that I never I knew I had, like the urge to cut clean the hand he just put around Momo's jaw. 'Now… why don't we use that pretty mouth of yours for something more… exciting.''

I felt something snap in me, the urge to scream at him rising within me; however someone else beat me to it. ''Stop!''

My head mechanically turned around and stared at Tsubaki-senpai, the look present on her face was making me feel like utterly useless during all this, as I could not protect her from the feelings of despair, helplessness, and resignation that lied in her eyes.

''And why would I do that?'' the man asked as he narrowed his gaze at her. She in response opened her mouth to speak, yet no words came out, just the trembling of her lips. ''Speak up will you, I can't hear shit.''

Once again she tried, her breathing becoming hectic as her eyes lost their luster, hope all to absent in them. ''I-I said… use me… just leave e-everyone else alone.''

''Oh?'' This peaked his interest and made him let go of Momo, eyes now focusing of the body of our queen, drooling over her like she was a piece of meat, one that he was dying to sink his teeth in. ''Now **THAT** is actually a tempting offer, and you definitely do seem to be a cut above the rest in the curves department.''

She was ready to put herself on the table like that, just so the others wouldn't have to. It was an admirable act of friendship and self-sacrifice. Yet it was completely insane, something that the others seem to agree with and verbally protested.

''Screw that piece of shit! Senpai you don't have to do it!'' Saji's yell was like a roar, as he struggled to get up from the ground.

''No! Don't do it senpai!'' Reya begged desperately.

''T-That's r-right Tsubaki-senpai! D-Don't do that for my sake!'' Momo spoke up, though the reluctance was noticeable in her voice, she may want to prevent her queen and friend from taking her place, but it didn't spare her from any of the fear of the idea of that man abusing her.

She looked at Momo and could only give her a bitter but resolute smile. ''It's my duty as the queen of Sona Sitri to make sure no harm comes to any of you… for that I will endure it.''

''Hahaha, now this is interesting!'' the man laughed as he walked in front of Tsubaki-senpai and knelt down in front of her. ''Tell you what, I won't touch the others, that is of course if you show me a good time.''

Her face palled even further as she shallow groggily, whole body trembling in fear, her eyes looking away from him. ''J-Just get this over with!''

Something was breaking in me… this feeling… it was worse than any physical pain I ever experienced, The pain of having your flesh cut open or your bones broken was like mosquito bite compared to the pain of having to watch a friend getting abused and not being able to do anything. A lone word escaping my lips as the man got closer to her. ''No…''

For a moment she turned and looked at me, our eyes meeting for the briefest of moments, her mismatched orbs were filled with tears as she smiled brokenly. ''… I'm sorry.''

No! No! No! No! NO!

I continued to struggle as the man started to caress her body his fingers trailing along her curves as he began stroking her legs, the desire to smash his teeth out was fueling my pain tolerance as I tried desperately to break the shackles by force. A slight hitch broke out from Tsubaki mouth as he made his way up her upper thighs just beneath her skirt. The bastard was smiling, getting off on the fear and trembling her body gave at his touch while he hungrily eyed the woman before him. Licking his lips in anticipation he started to move his hands beneath her skirt and towards her inner thighs as I desperately continued to try and break out from my restraints.

No matter how hard I pulled or pushed, I couldn't budge them, the way they were put on was restricting me far too much.

The only thing that was actually cracking was the ground under my knees, right under my glowing kneecaps. Why they were even like that I didn't know since I didn't even attempted to reinforce-

…

For a moment I felt a series of dots connecting in my head, my eyes widening as I might have just found our ticket out of this mess, feeling the sudden urge to smack myself from noticing this simple answer only now. It wasn't too late yet, I had the means to save her.

Now it was only a matter of how good of an actor I am.

A smirk crept on my face as I let it all out. ''Hahahahaha!''

It was a crude and somewhat arrogant laugh, one that I don't know how I came up with. I wasn't one that laughed all that much to begin with so I had to make it look as impactful as I could. Judging by how everyone was looking at me as if I just went insane I think it worked, especially since that pig stopped touching Tsubaki-senpai and was now focused on me. ''What's so funny brat?''

''What you ask, this whole scene is hilarious.'' I remarked while keeping an all knowing smirk on my face, doing my best Archer impression that I could come up with. ''What, is it so hard to get a girl for yourself that you have to go for defenseless high school girls?''

I shifted my wrists enough for my finger tips to touch the plates of the shackles, neon green marks forming on them.

''Shirou… what are you doing?'' I could hear Reya mutter from my left side, a small gasp escaping her lips as she probably saw the markings forming on my hands from her position.

The veins that started to bulge in the man's fat head was a clear sign that I was getting under his skin, I just needed a couple of more jabs. ''I guess it's pretty hard when you look the way you do. Maybe it's the ugly face, or perhaps it's the body, but then again you don't even work out do you?''

''Kid… you're really starting to piss me off.'' He muttered as his hands balled into fists, a glare that spelled he was seconds away from attacking me.

Hmm… I see, the shackles are made with a magically enchanted metal alloy that synthesizes the effect of light element. While it lacks the distinctive purifying properties of the real thing, it does however manage to induce a state of paralysis to ones demonic energy. No wonder none of them were able to break free.

''Do I?'' I let my smirk grow, delivering the piece de resistance. ''I apologize, just random speculation on my part. Though perhaps it might not be a physical thing but a mental one, or maybe I'm looking to deep into it and it's just a simple case of inadequacy in the bedroom.''

Hook, line and sinker.

''You piece of shit!'' He snapped as he rushed towards me, grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me closer, something that I could have gone without since his breath was like a raw chicken gone bad. ''I can't kill you, but I sure as hell can beat you to a pulp and make you watch as I fuck all these bitches!''

My burrows twitched as I finished analyzing the accursed restraints… So it's built like that, enchanted like that, it operates like that… Good I have all I need to know.

I released the valve, letting my prana flow into them via reinforcement. They became stronger, a few seconds later they became even stronger, slowly reaching their limits, cracks slowly spreading all over as prana began leaking out of them.

''Wait! That wasn't our deal!'' Tsubaki-senpai tried to stop my soon to be beating, something I appreciated, but wasn't necessary.

''I will be back to fuck you in a minute.'' He snapped at her with venom in his voice, taking his eyes off me for a single moment.

That was his mistake.

''Trace on!''

With one final push I shattered the shackles that bound me, it was so simple that my head hurt. Just because they can restrict one from using demonic energy doesn't mean one can't use a different source of energy while wearing them. Magecraft uses prana, not demonic energy. That being said Segrif Zepar made one major miscalculation in his abduction plan, he locked in here the only person with the means to break out.

Now that my hands were free I used my reinforced body to properly move through this heavy pressure. My hand reached for the man's neck and grabbed the necklace around it.

He seemed to have realized something was wrong and turned around, only to gap in shock as he saw me free, but more than anything shocked that I had his necklace, and that I crushed it.

As the broken pieces fell down the man also dropped to his knees. Just as I suspected, the necklace was the reason why he could move while we all were pinned to the ground.

The roles had now changed as the prisoner and warden now assumed the others position.

I didn't waste any time and got behind him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a strangling position, and cutting of his air supply.

''Gah!'' He gasped in pain as my arm tightened around his throat, weak arms struggling to free himself from my vice like grip. ''L-Let go!''

I ignored desperate plea, for what he was trying to do to the girls, for what he did to Tsubaki-senpai, I have no mercy to give. However he may still prove useful. ''Where is she?''

''W-What?'' He managed to mumble from under my hold.

I didn't like repeating myself to scum like him. ''Where is Sona Sitri?''

''L-Like hell I'm telling you!''

At least he has some loyalty… or just plain fear to betray his master. Let's see how far he can keep it up before he cracks up. ''Suit yourself, but I'm not going to let go no matter what. In fact whenever you are a step away from passing out I will give you just a bit fresh air, only to tighten my hold once more, then I will keep repeating this cycle over and over again, and then you can enjoy sensation of slowly repeatedly suffocating without the sweet mercy of passing out.''

He was struggling, the gradual change in his skin color pointing out his desperate need for air. I weakened my grip enough for him to get a fresh breath of air, life returning to his eyes, but it was a short lived moment as I tightened my arm back, causing him to suffocate once again. I then whispered in a flat tone. ''So what will it be?''

He was shaking and sweating in fear, eyes bouncing in his head as he finally snapped. ''F-Fine! She's on the f-first floor in the master's office.''

''Thank you.'' I said as I let go of him.

He didn't get to enjoy the fresh air as I immediately turned his body around and punched him in the gut, my reinforced fist burrowing deep within his flabby flesh, breaking his ribs, probably rupturing some organs, and sending his body crashing against the wall. The impact was quite strong, since his body had been forced in the wall like a nail. A silent hiss was heard as the man passed out, either from the lack of air or the impact, I wasn't too sure of which myself.

I projected Kansho and threw it in the part of the cell bars where the man used that spell earlier, breaking it. A breath of ease escaped my lips as the air around us turned back to normal.

''Man being a jerk is hard…'' I remarked to myself as I recalled the stuff I had to say in order to make the man lose his calm and go after me. It's quite vexing how Archer is able to do stuff like that like it's no big deal. ''In hindsight I should make aunt Maiya a box of her favorite chocolates for teaching me that choke hold and intimidation tactics.

I cringed in pain as I finally felt the recoil from when the shackles shattered in pieces, my hands feeling numb as if they just got hit head on by a baseball bat. I brought my hands forwards and clenched my fists a couple of times. While satisfied by the end result I still have a long way to go, I poured a bit too much prana in them I have to be more careful next time I do this. All that aside, there were more important matters to deal with. I turned around and walked over to Tsubaki-senpai who was just staring at me with wide eyes.

I placed my hand on her shackles and repeated what I did earlier, this time keeping in mind the amount of prana I used. It took a few seconds and her shackles broke down, much more gently than in my case might I add. I turned to look at her with a reassuring smile. ''Are you ok Tsubaki-senpai?''

She didn't respond, instead she brought her hands forward and stared at them for a few moments, her body started to suddenly shiver violently, arms wrapping around her body as her face morphed into a panicked state.

I didn't understand, why was she still scared if I already took out that pig?

As I wanted ask what was wrong, my voice went silent. Of course… how could I be so insensitive?

Even though the man didn't get to do any actual abuse, he still got to run his greasy hands all over her. The fear of what could have happened, the mental anguish going through those moments as she couldn't do anything but let him do whatever he wanted…

All of those leave scars.

Deep within her heart.

I slowly got on my knees and wrapped my arms around her, resting her head in the crop of my neck, stroking her hair gently with my fingers. ''It's ok Tsubaki-senpai, I'm here for you. Everything will be all right, I'll make sure something like that never happens again.''

She was silent at first, but her trembling arms slowly made their way behind me as she returned my embrace, small cold drops of water running down my chest, heavy sobbing coming from her as her hands gripped desperately on my shirt like a lifeline. ''I-I was so s-scared.''

''I know…'' I whispered in a solemn tone, holding her closer. That was all I could do at the moment… everything was my fault… if I only would have realized it earlier she didn't have to go through all of that. No matter how long it takes or what I have to do, I will make amends and make everything up to her.

I guess the girl that always tried her best to appear strong and confident was much more fragile than I imagined. So beautiful, yet so delicate, just like a camellia flower.

We continued to sit like this for a couple of minutes, until her shivering had ceased and she finally pulled her head away from my chest, a small strained smile lingering on her face. ''T-Thank you Shirou.''

The pain was still there, that much I knew. Yet I didn't know of what I could do at the moment to make everything better, the only I could do was offer her a gentle smile, my thumb brushing away the lone tear left running down her cheek. ''Always.''

I turned around with the intention of freeing the others, yet I found myself taken aback by their gaping mouths, Momo's expression in particular was quite interesting with how her jaw kept bouncing up and down, and if she didn't have her hands cuffed up she would without a doubt be pointing a trembling finger at me. ''S-Shirou… how did you do that?''

Okay, for real now, was using reinforcement that much of a big deal, I mean I intentionally made it fail so that the shackles break apart, which in normal context should be a stupid move. Anyhow I keep getting the distinct impression that devils don't really practice or even study about magecraft, but I digress now wasn't the time for a magical seminar. ''To keep it short I filled the shackles with far too much power that they could handle and they simply broke down.''

While the others had looks of awe on their faces, Momo for one seemed to be in denial of sorts. ''But how?! You shouldn't be able to use demonic energy with the shackles on, no, scratch that, you were never able to use it in the first place!''

Well, if there is one person who would have a hard time believing it, that would be our white haired bishop especially since she just spent so much time previously trying to teach me how to use demonic energy only for me to constantly fail. It was to the point where she started yanking her hair in sheer frustration over my lack of progress. Also, I can't help but wonder why I'm getting a sense of déjà vu here. ''I'm using magecraft.''

''The hell is that?'' Saji voiced the question that was no doubt probably going through everyone's mind at the moment.

''Now is not the time for lectures!'' The blue-haired rook snapped at us, her face displaying just how much she was through with this, her pale blue eyes focusing on me, only seriousness could be seen within them. ''Shirou can you do the same for us?''

I didn't answer and just walked over to her, once again placing my hand ove the shackles and repeating what I did earlier, this time keeping in mind the amount of prana required. It took a few seconds but soon after her shackles broke down like the previous pair before. I couldn't help but offer her a small smirk. ''Does that answer your question?''

For a few seconds she stared aimlessly at me, a spark of resolution igniting in her eyes. ''… Free the others, we are rescuing Sona.''

I made my way through each of them and broke their restraints one by one, life returning to their faces the moment the shackles shattered in pieces.

''Hell yeah!'' Saji roared as he got up from the floor, only to stumble and fall back on it, no doubt that the many head-butts he did to the cell bar finally catching up with him.

Tsubaki-senpai could only sigh at the sight of Saji all over the floor. ''Momo, Reya, please heal Saji up before we go, we wouldn't want him to pass out on the way.''

It was a good thing they were healing him, head injuries are a nasty thing to deal with. Who knows, maybe I had a couple of them myself after the accident which made me lose all my memories before I got adopted by the Emiya family. Brushing that thought aside I made my way towards the cell door, with a quick failed reinforcement I managed to break the lock. Stepping outside I took a quick look around, further confirming no traces of any guards or any kind of surveillance system. This was good, while they were healing Saji I could go on and save Sona.

I didn't even take two steps out of the cell as I felt a strong grip on my shoulder, turning around I was greeted by the intense glare of our group's rook. ''Where do you think you're going?''

''To save our master.'' I remarked with a rather bemused voice, was there even a reason to ask me that question in the first place?

My answer didn't seem to make her happy, nope, the way she gritted her teeth was telling me otherwise. ''Oh no, you don't! Shirou we had this talk before you can't just rush in without thinking things through!''

Somehow this made me feel rather irritated, the fact that she was basically stopping me from rescuing Sona as fast I can. I didn't snap at her, but I sure did raise my voice at her. ''So you just me expect to wait while who knows what that freak is doing to her!?''

For a moment I heard something snap. No, that wasn't exactly right there was nothing that snapped, it was just the sound of my face when I got slapped. I was so focused on Tsubasa that I didn't notice when Reya walked next to me. ''Do you think we all don't want to save her?!'' she screamed at me as she got right in my face, so much stress and frustration present in her gaze. ''If it were just me I wouldn't waste any second talking and go head on to rescue her myself, but that would be the least thing she would want.''

Tsubaki-senpai walked next to us and placed a hand over Reya's shoulder, calming her down and making her give enough space to walk in front of me. She tugged my shirt hard, the sound of stitches ripping apart was noticeable, but it overshadowed by the pained look in the queens eyes. ''I know her Shirou, Sona wouldn't want us rush in without any kind of plan and get ourselves harmed or worse killed. Because of that I'm trying my best to endure everything that is happening right now and do things the way she would want us to act.''

I could only stare at in her mismatched eyes as the glasses slided on her nose, taking note of the resolution present in them, the anger simmering at the man that abducted her best friend, the way her voice was giving away from what she just went through, and the amount of stress she was no doubt going through from all that happened today. My eyes glanced behind her, catching the looks in the other's eyes, frustration and anger were present in every one of them. It was at that time that I recalled how they each shared their past with me and how much Sona helped them when they were going through their individual crisis.

With my narrow view of things I failed to realize how much this situation was affecting everyone else, not just me alone. Once again my inability to truly understand people got in my way of seeing the bigger picture.

I sighed in frustration as I took Tsubaki-senpai's hand and slowly made her let go of my shirt before she completely ripped it off. As I held her hand I gave it a noticeable squeeze, my attempt to calm her, making the trembling subside. ''… Do you have a plan?''

She was silent for a few seconds, breathing a few times to relax, straightening her glasses before she began, her calm demeanor returning. ''… For now we should stay grouped up and make our way quietly without drawing any attention. If we are careful and perhaps a bit lucky we might just find her without getting ourselves caught… again.''

That didn't sound too bad, while I would have preferred overall to take time and plan things out more in detail; we unfortunately were rather short on time and must make do with what we can. ''Then what?''

''We get out of here report what happened, and let the devil government handle the rest.''

Fast, simple, and possibly without anyone injured, just my kind of plan. ''… Ok, let's go.''

Please hang on Sona, we are on the way.

* * *

Sona Sitri could honestly say she wasn't expecting much out of today, believing that it would be just like any other regular day for her as the student council president. Of all the things she was expecting to give her a headache she would have guessed at another list of complaints being held against the perverted trio, or Rias bragging like the otaku she is about a new anime figurine she just bought, or at the very least dealing with another stray devil hunt.

Never did she expect her ex-fiancé to drop by acting all humble and regretful only for him to use some kind of sleeping gas to knock her and her peerage out cold.

Her eyes trembled as she woke up, a stabbing headache pulsing violently through her head as she slowly took notice of where she was.

It was an opulent decorated office; pieces of priceless artwork were put on display for the ones of low status to stare in awe, seemingly highlighting the red furniture that was placed around the mahogany desk. She instantly disliked the furniture, not design wise but for its color, red always seemed to get her annoyed for some reason.

Yet all of that was insignificant as she glared at the man sitting behind the mahogany deck, really wishing she could just walk over and slap the smug smile off his face. Unfortunately from what she could observe something like that was impossible since she seemed to be shackled against the wall with what she recognized as demonic suppressing cuffs. Oh joy, seems like Segrif wasn't as dumb as she thought he was.

The heir of Zepar smiled as he noticed just who now awoke. It was hard to tell if his smile was supposed to be one of amusement or sheer arrogance… perhaps both. ''Seems like my guest is finally awake, I apologize for the poor conditions, but I didn't quite have the time to prepare something more suitable for one of your status.''

Sona was never much of a fan of lemons, yet she couldn't help but feel like someone just shoved one in her mouth from how sour she was feeling at the moment. ''Segrif, I was expecting many things from you but abduction is the last thing I saw you stooping so low to do.''

The black haired man simply shrugged lightly as he got up from his chair and walked towards his pretty prisoner. ''Abduction is such a harsh word, I just wanted to have a proper chat with you since you never really gave me much of a choice.''

His easy going attitude towards this whole situation was making Sona simmer in anger, but to her own surprise she was keeping herself collected at the moment. ''… There's a thin line between arrogance and stupidity Segrif. The moment what you did gets revealed you will be ruined, everything you own will get taken away and instead get a bounty placed on your head.''

''Oh, I'm well aware of that.'' He commented casually as he took a nearby chair and sat himself right in front of Sona.

That was the last straw, she snapped.

''Then why?! Why is it so important to you to marry me?!'' Her sharp voice echoed in the room, the sound of the chains rumbling as she tried to get closer to him, only to fail. ''I know you, things like the future of the purebloods, acquiring more status or power don't matter to you! So what is it?!''

The man in front of her wasn't a like most pureblooded devils, since the very first day she met him she saw the rather uninterested demeanor he had when it came down to his own status. Something very unusual for a high-class pureblooded devil, suspicious in fact.

Due to the protective nature of Sona's sister Vincent would keep an eye out when it came to down to her fiancée, he would report back anything that seemed odd about him. There were many times when the man known as Segrif Zepar could have raised his status among his peers, expand his influence within the seventy-two pillars, participate in rating games, or spread his name in the underworld.

And yet he didn't.

With the exception of some rather rare occasions, he never brought it upon himself to make himself grander. This was what truly confused Sona. If he really lacked the aspiration for power or fame why bother so much over her?

If it were about her position as the heir of the Sitri house or being the sibling of Serafall Leviathan like most of the devil nobility would focus on, she could understand.

If it were about him being obsessed with her beauty and body like a certain chauvinistic pig named Riser Phenex, she could understand.

However, she just couldn't fathom what was driving him to risk himself like this. Devils have always been drawn to power like moths to flame, that is an undeniable truth, but callously loosing ones power and authority within the devil society was something not even the most arrogant and foolish of devils would do. None would be prepared to risk and lose generations worth of reputation, wealth, and position of their house.

Just what was so important to him that he was willing to go so far?

The heir of Zepar on the other hand didn't seem so bothered by Sona's reaction, sure he was certainly surprised to see the girl finally show some emotion other than the constant glare or stare of cold indifference she always sent him, but now he was too busy enjoying himself due to holding all the cards in the present situation.

He stepped right in front of her and softly caressed her cheek, the feeling of his gloves brushing against her skin was disgusting to Sona, but it was short lived as the disgust quickly turned to pain as Segrif grabbed her by the jaw and pulled her closer to him, just enough to see the blank look in his eyes. ''It's because you kept rejecting me.''

Sona just stood there and stared as he let go of her face, not understand what was referring to. ''… What?''

''How much do you really know about me?'' He began as he started walking back and forth in the room. ''Not enough I presume, so allow me to shed some light. I was never really that adamant about this marriage in the first place, whenever I married you or not was not something that I couldn't live without, and truth be told you're not really my type, I prefer more endowed women.''

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, all this time Segrif wouldn't have cared if the marriage went through or not, no, she refused to believe this.

It was after a couple more seconds that she caught up to what he meant at the end. For that moment she just forgot about all her education as a proper lady and just spoke what was on her mind. ''Asshole.''

That certainly hit a nerve with the man, if the way how his eyes twitched was any indication. ''Moving on, the thing that truly made me desire you more than anything was your defiance. The fact that the very day we first meet you've been dead set against the idea of marrying me was what made you special.'' He ran a hand through his seaweed like hair and let out amused chuckle. ''If you would have been just a tad less against the idea, I might have requested to cancel our engagement myself.''

Everything she was hearing was just going over her head, the idea that if she may have been just little less opposed to the marriage could have prevented all of this from happening in the first place was just too much. ''I'm not a man of grandeur or high aspiration, I just want to acquire the things that I can't have.'' He shrugged as he took a seat right in front of Sona, his eyes unable to help themselves from staring at the girls long legs.

Just as the bespectacled girl was about to comment about his perverted stare, the air around him changed, eyes turning cold and hard. ''You know of my sister don't you?''

She didn't know where that came from or what he was aiming with it but it wasn't like she could do anything all tied up like this, the least she could do however was gather information and perhaps use what she finds out to devise an escape plan. ''I have met her on a couple of occasions, why does it matter?''

A long smile spread to his ears, revealing his pearly, yet somewhat sharp teeth. ''Oh, it matters a lot, in fact one may argue that she is the cause of how I am today.''

''I don't follow.''

''It's probably one of the oldest tales that transpires in a devil household that has multiple heirs in a single generation.'' He went on as he leaned back on his chair. ''The parents don't necessarily choose the oldest child for the position of next head of the house, but rather they choose the one with most power and potential.''

She didn't find any solid counter argument to that statement, power was always the first and foremost subject that mattered to devils. For in the case of heirs, leaders, and other positions of authority they were always chosen for their power whether it was physical or political. In fact the only reason she was the heir of the Sitri clan in the first place was because her sister had to give up her rights as heir when she took on the title of Leviathan, otherwise Sona would have never been picked as heir. Her sisters power being leagues above her own, and would without a doubt have brought countless honors and acclaim to the Sitri name… if she could have worked a little on her personality and hobbies that is.

''Such was my case… I was quite a weakling by my father's own words, and he decided to leave it all to my sister since she was clearly the better offspring.'' His smile faded away a cold and crude stare forming on his face, his hand began to clench, and his eyes now stared at his now trembling fist. ''As you can imagine I was quite livid about this, and felt rather betrayed by the man who raised me. However, more than anything I felt furious at my sister for stealing what was rightfully mine. Now at that time angry and confused I was left with two choices either get stronger and make my father reconsider his pick, or…''

A part of her knew what he was referring to, but the moral side of her was desperately trying to believe otherwise, the only way to give herself some solace was by simply asking. ''Or what?''

He shrugged lightly accompanied with a small chuckle. ''Or just kill my sister and leave my father with no choice but select me as next head of the Zepar house.''

She bit her lower lip in frustration, she knew fair well that things like this often happened within devil aristocracy. The constant fighting and hunger for power… the madness of tainting your hands with the blood of your own family to earn that power or position, she heard of it yes, witnessing a prime example of it on the other hand was something that she didn't think she would have to deal with so soon. It was both sickening and infuriating to hear.

Segrif didn't even register her intense glare and just went on without a care. ''You don't even know how long this trend has being going on within devil aristocracy. All I needed to do was just wait for the right moment to end her and make it look like an accident.''

''I still remember that day… it was just my sister and I with no one else around to witness it, and I had everything set and ready to make it all seem like an tragic accident. All I needed was just one single stab.'' He commented with such a glee in his voice staring at his hand that was folded up as if he was holding a knife, trembling all too slightly until it just fell limp to his side, all emotion draining from his face, and leaving behind just a stoic contemplating stare. ''And yet I couldn't do it…''

Sona's eyes stopped blinking… he didn't do it?… well thinking on it she did meet the said girl a couple of times, even somewhat recently too so it would have been impossible for her to be dead, but she didn't think he would just let her go. Honestly she couldn't help but be surprised that there was still some form of conscience left in the bastard that abducted her.

''How odd the feeling of love is, it makes one feel so human… so weak.'' He remarked nonchalantly, though one could see the disgust in his eyes. ''I was left with just one choice… so I decided to gain what I wanted through my own means, and a year or so later I surpassed my sister and made my father reconsider his choice.''

It started as a mere hiss, then it grew louder and louder, small chuckles morphing into a crazed laughter as the man arched his back and grasped his face with palms, yet failing miserably to hide away the sick expression he was displaying. The way his eyes were dancing on his head, the twisted snarl reaching from ear to ear, and the image of it all forming together what can only be described as the very picture of a deranged man. ''The miserable look on his face when he admitted he was wrong and begged me to be the next head of the house was the most ultimate rush I had ever experienced, better than ejaculating one hundred times.''

His asylum fitting laughter went on for a minute before it started dying down, slowly recovering his composure as the chuckles echoed in the room. Standing still and silent for a few seconds, he bent his neck mechanically to side, and his large gapping eyes staring at the girl he desired. ''Ever since then I've been rather enthusiastic when it came to obtaining the things that are forbidden to me. The feeling when I'm denied something for various reasons and then the look of defeat and disbelief on the faces of those who forbade me from having them is the ultimate form of ecstasy for me.''

Sona had her doubts before not knowing him good enough to give an exact verdict, but now she was sure. The man in front of her was far from a healthy functioning person.

Her lips trembled as her words left her mouth. ''You're insane… all of this just to satisfy an emotional desire.''

''I'm a devil aren't I?'' he shrugged without a care in the world, but for a moment his eyes turned dead serious. ''Living for ones desires is in our blood, perhaps living so long among humans has made you forget that primal drive. ''

That seriousness was short lived as the arrogant smile returned. ''But that's all irrelevant since I will make you mine and put you back on the right path.''

She had to talk her way around, maybe buy some time until she can come up with an idea to get out of this mess. ''And just how are you going do that?''

''With this.'' He replied as he extended his hand close to her eyes, enough for her the see the magical formula written inside the magic circle within his palm.

She blinked in astonishment, not because of the spell was something extraordinary or dangerous, but rather because it was completely and utter useless for what he was planning.

''Mind altering magic? Really Segrif?'' She commented with half lidded eyes, the odd sensation of feeling scared a minute ago and now completely fine was certainly something new. ''News flash, but devils have high immunity towards mental oriented magic so I highly doubt someone like you could pull off a brainwashing spell on me.''

''A fair point, a spell of this level and a person of my skill would probably fail.'' He nodded with a sigh, as she wasn't wrong at all. Devils were quite well versed with this kind of magic, something so basic to them that any devil would know how to perform or guard against it especially if he or she plans on visiting the human world while keeping a low profile. Normally this sort of magic was quite efficient against regular humans however against fellow devils it was pretty useless… or thats how it was normally. ''However I do have certain means around that.''

The heir of Zepar reached in the pocket inside his suit and pulled out what seemed to be some kind of oval jewel, the size of his palm, looking like it was encasing a bluish-purple flame within itself. ''You see I am well aware that devils are almost immune against most forms of mind altering magic, so then I asked myself what would happen if let's say one could weaken a devils mental barriers?''

It took only a second to process what he was aiming for, eye gapping and mouth unhinged, her body starting to struggle within the bindings. ''I see you realized, well that will spare me the time explaining, but in short this jewel here has that very ability and by the time I finish using it you will be quite susceptible towards my… adjustments. Quite the superb trinket might I add, I did have to go and deal with some rather tasteless individuals to get it but I think it will be all worth it in the end.''

Her teeth gritted against each other, whether it was out of anger or of fear she wasn't sure anymore. ''You won't get away with this!''

''And who will stop me?''

''My peerage! They will-!''

''The same peerage currently locked away in my dungeon by any chance?'' A sly smile formed on his face. ''It's a nice hope to hang onto, but even if they managed to escape I instructed my peerage to intercept them, and I believe that further stacks the odds quite against them.''

Her body went limp… the others were also captured… she was shackled without any power to muster and Segrif had a jewel that was going to help him play with her mind. No one could really blame her if she just gave in and resigned herself to what's to come.

''Don't worry, when this is over you will be back with them without as much as a missing hair.'' He said as he got his face closer to hers, eyes staring in each other. ''Only with a new found opinion regarding me.''

Was this really all that she was?

Was she just some useless damsel in distress waiting helplessly for a miracle to happen?

Was this really all that there was to the girl that Rias Gremory sees as her rival?

Did the girl that led her peerage with such respect lower herself so much to simply give up now?

No…

 _This shall not stand._

Segrif tilted his head in confusion to why Sona started suddenly pulling her head backwards so hard, such that he didn't have time to register her next move. With swift speed and all the force she could muster she smashed her head against the nose of her warden.

He stumbled backwards in pain, trying to stop the blood gushing out of his now broken nose, glaring dangerously at the one that dared to harm him.

For a moment he simply froze, the girl in front of him glaring cold daggers at him. The despair and regret he wanted to see so badly was all but missing in her eyes, and the only thing present in them was a just tranquil fury. ''I'm not so easily broken.''

To his own surprise he let out a chuckle, although he wanted to retaliate against her for the sheer nerve of hurting him, he couldn't help but feel excited, the things he had to work the most for always gave him the most amazing of rushes. ''We shall see…''

* * *

Things were on the edge with us if could say so myself. About fifteen minutes have passed since we broke out and started making our way through the enemy base and things have been quiet… too quiet. We haven't encountered any enemies or diversions along the way and it was somehow making us more agitated. For example, Tomoe stepped over some broken glass and the mere sound of it cracking made us all jump and ready ourselves for battle.

The mission wasn't as simple as one may believe, the fact that we knew that if we screw up we could cause Sona harm was making all of us rather edgy. The stray hunts which the others were used to didn't compare to this at all, for it is so simple to just destroy the target, while saving someone was a completely different beast altogether.

Along the way here Tsubaki-senpai tried calling for help, which failed since apparently this place had some sort of bounded field around it that blocked us from magically contacting the outside. When I asked why she doesn't use her phone, she stared intensely at me for a few seconds then instantly checked her pockets for her phone… which was unfortunately broken.

I passed her mine to use, but she seemed rather reluctant to use it. She did eventually accept and tried to call someone, but they didn't answer. So she had to resort to simply messaging the person. When I asked who she wrote to, she simply replied.

'Someone that Segrif will regret pissing off.'

When I got my phone back I also tried calling home, and learned that apparently you can't call someone in the human world while being in the underworld with a regular human made phone. Apparently, you can however call someone in the underworld as long as you first type in a special code though. Why it works in one way and not in both I have no idea.

I couldn't help but clench my fist in frustration at the current set of events, there's no telling what there's in store for us so I have to gather as much information as I can. ''Tsubaki-senpai do you have any information about Segrif or any potential allies he might have working with him?''

''It's hard to say Shirou, unlike most devil aristocrats that love displaying their power Segrif has always been rather discreet when it came to showing what he is truly capable off, I do know that he should be at least around Sona's level of power but I can't say for sure. Also the only ones I can imagine going along with this insane plot of his are probably his peerage.''

That was rather annoying to say the least, while I myself doubt that he is the same level that Kurosaiga was, I'd rather not take any risk in underestimating what he is capable of doing. If it would come down to a direct confrontation between us I can't imagine how it could turn out due to the lack of information about him. Is he a long range fighter like Sona is or would he be a close quarter's fighter like Kurosaiga was?

That lack of information was really bugging me, but I had to press on. ''Do you know anything about them?''

The sigh that followed lowered my expectations by a rank or two. ''Not much unfortunately, they never participated in ratings games so I have no useful information to offer. All I know is that his peerage at the very least isn't a full set, he only has two rooks, two knights, one bishop, and one queen.''

''So we should be ready to expect at least six opponents before we reach Segrif.'' I remarked as we turned the corner and walked in a pitch black corridor. Now that I think about it there was a woman that constantly accompanied Segrif, I think it was safe to assume that she was part of his peerage. The only question is what her piece was and what the full extent of her power is. If I'm not mistaken when Vincent visited us and displayed some of his power Shahnaz was one of the few people that didn't fall on their knees when it hit us all. That alone should be enough to attest that she is by no means a weakling.

''Shit, and here I was hoping we can get by without fighting some of that whack jobs allies.'' Tsubasa remarked while sucking her teeth.

''Tell me about it.'' Ruruko nodded in agreement.

''Don't falter, if we do indeed end up fighting them, we shall do so as a team.'' Tsubaki stated in a clear tone.

''Yes ma'am'.'' We all acknowledged, though in my case it was more half hearted since my mind was busy coordinating my body considering that I have to be extra careful how I'm walking since I can't see a damn thing in this tunnel.

''Are you ok Shirou, you seem rather off.'' Momo asked me with a muffled tone, probably curios by the way I moved around.

''I'm fine, just having a hard time navigating this tunnel.''

How curious, all of the walls that I kept touching to find my way up until now were quite cold dry, this one for some reason was really warm and soft, a somewhat elastic feeling to it, and what was this thin piece of fabric sticking out of it?

''What is this?'' I asked bemused as I tried pulling it, to my surprise and high-pitched scream erupted the moment I did that.

My body became rigid and cold, a sense of dread was hanging around the air in front of me, as if I just walked in a monsters lair and recklessly woke it up.

''Shirou…'' Reya whispered in a sweet yet deadly tone, my instincts telling me that I just did something that I was going to regret. ''Would you be so kind and explain why you are groping my butt?'

As it stood quite the curious feeling I was having, similar to floating in the water only to get hit by a wave when I turned my head, only this case the wave was the sudden realization of just what I was groping the past ten seconds.

My body was on autopilot as it jumped backwards and crashed in a nearby wall, my mind and mouth seemingly off tuned with each other. ''I, wait, what?!''

While I couldn't see anything in the darkness that surrounded me, I was fairly sure that everyone was staring at me with looks of disapproval and disappointment. Momo's grumbling was in fact quite noticeable. ''First Tsubaki-senpai, now Reya? Did the gas mess up with your hormones or something?''

The corners of my mouth were already trembling from the accusation. ''Wait, just a second I-''

''Real dick move Emiya, I mean sure I can understand the male drive of wanting to grope some hot chicks, but even I keep my hands at home.'' Saji remarked with an obvious amount of contempt in his voice.

''But I-''

Once again I didn't get to defend myself as Tsubasa took the word. ''Told you this would happen if we let him hang out with Saji too much.''

''What?! How is this my fault?!'' the previously mentioned pawn roared in disapproval.

Curiously for some reason I knew that the blue haired rook was rolling her eyes even though I couldn't see it. ''You know, when you go all 'Hey Emiya check out the legs on that chick!', people can still hear you even though you think your alone.''

Damn it… I hoped that there was no one around when Saji was letting his mouth loose and commented on random girls that he saw. ''Hey it's called male bonding!''

''More like perving around.'' Ruruko mumbled under her voice.

''I actually looked up to you Shirou!'' Tomoe remarked in shame.

''Just hear me out for a second!'' I snapped desperately at them, trying to keep things from derailing any more down the road. ''I didn't do it on purpose, I just can't see anything in this pitch black place.''

There was a moment of silence between all us, but it was short lived as many of the people around all shouted together. ''Bullshit!''

They really forgotten why we were in this tunnel in the first place didn't they? The whole stealth and sneak around plan to save Sona part?

It seems a bit counterproductive to go around shouting like that, but that's just my opinion. Moving back to the problem at hand, it seemed Tsubasa was quite annoyed by what she perceived as my method of lying my way out and decided to get a bit close and physical with me if I'm not mistaken by the scent that I'm sensing. ''If you're going to lie at least find a more believable excuse. Everyone knows that devils can see clear as day in the dark, so better come clean and admit you wanted to cup a feeling.''

Well… she wasn't technically wrong, I mean I did read that among the characteristics devils have nocturnal vision was indeed one of them, but I don't have it, which is another among the list of devil traits that I somehow lack. I really wanted to just go home and forget about all of this, but now is not the time. ''… Then how come I can't see anything?''

There was once again a deep silence between us, seriousness could now be felt in the air. ''…Hey for real now, you really can't see this?'' Saji asked me, the skepticism all too present in his voice.

I stared at him… or at least where I think he was, all I saw was nothing but darkness. My answer was rather obvious. ''No.''

They were once again silent as they probably debated between themselves.

''I think he really can't see, so put down that finger Saji, it's obscene.'' Momo remarked with quite the flustered voice.

Well at least that shows that I-

Wait a second… finger?

Why would Saji showing me a finger would be obscene, unless he…

Did Saji just flip me off?

…

''Oh for Christ sake! Now isn't the time for-'' My body froze as I felt a hand grabbing onto me, while that by itself may not be something bad, it was the specific area of my body that I was getting grabbed by that was making my mouth unhinge and drop. ''D-Did someone just grope my ass?''

''Huh, that shock on your face certainly was real… so you really can't see anything, sorry I wanted to make sure you weren't just faking it. Though if it makes you feel any better, you have quite the nice firm tush back there.'' She replied without a care in the world.

Of all the people that could have done that, she was in my opinion one of the last people I would have expected to do something like this. Though to be fair, I did grope her butt myself just a minute ago, so I think Reya was somewhat justified in doing it to me as well, the old 'eye for an eye' saying. As much sense as that may look from an equivalent exchange perspective it still didn't stop me from wanting to just find a hole and crawl in it until I calmed down.

'' _ **It's always the silent ones.''**_ Archer added his own to cents, though to be fair he was making a valid point. It makes me put the things I know about Reya in a new light, perhaps I should check those books she reads in her free time but starts behaving suspiciously skittish whenever someone is trying to see what she is reading.

Concerning as that may be, it didn't get rid of the complex series of emotions I was going through. Was this how women feel when men treat them like objects?

My hand moved mechanically and slapped itself against my face; the pain from it was quite a nice change of pace from the massive headache I was feeling from the situation. ''I feel abused.''

'' _ **You should get used to it.''**_

I swear if I ever get the chance and meet Archer face to face I will punch him right in the middle of his smug face. _''I hate you so much…''_

* * *

Shahnaz was what many people would call a calculating woman. Even though her master was a rather brash person, she was the one that always supported and helped him handle a lot of problems using strategy and schemes rather than simple brute force. In fact when her master first wanted to go and get Sona Sitri his original plan simply involved a lot of violence via taking the Sitri heir by force. Any possible witnesses to their actions would also be dealt with accordingly in a similar fashion; it was a reckless plan that would have severely hurt a lot of people something that she honestly didn't want to cause unless there wasn't any other choice. In order to avoid this she convinced her master to put on a little act of humility, suggesting he offer a gift as a token of peace when in reality secretly contained sleeping gas which when opened proceeded to knock the Sitri heir and her peerage out. It was fast, it would make it so one would get hurt, it wouldn't attract any undue attention from noise of any potential struggle, and plus they had a lot of such sleeping gas lying around the base for their little 'pets' in case they got overly excited so obtaining this without raising any suspicion was quite simple.

She didn't agree with the whole crazy idea her master was planning, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Her duty as her a servant of Segrif Zepar outweighed whatever her morals she had on this matter may be. While she couldn't stop him, she could however at least try and limit the potential catastrophe of the situation. This was what she tried so desperately to do with her methods.

Originally her master didn't care about the Sitri heir's peerage in fact he would have let them be and rush back with Sona Sitri alone, it was only thanks to her convincing him on bringing them along with them that they hadn't been reported already and branded as criminals by the Underworld.

The middle-eastern woman's eyebrows knitted together as she watched the surveillance of their prisoners through her crystal ball, her hand reaching for her face, massaging the tattooed part under her eyes. She honestly thought the way things were going it was all too good to be true. The plan going off without a hitch, transporting them all secretly to Zepar family territory, all of the Sitri house members nicely shackled in the dungeon where they couldn't cause any trouble, and yet now she finds them somehow free from their bonds now making their way towards the upper levels. Why the hell wasn't she notified by the fat guard sent to watch them who was supposed to notify her should something unexpected happen? There would definitely be… words with him to be had later if he wasn't dead already, but that was a matter for a later time.

This was bad… very bad… the moment her master finds out they broke out things will really go south. There was really only one choice at hand, even though she didn't enjoy the aspects of it.

''It would seem things won't go as swiftly or smoothly as master planned.'' A sigh escaped her rosy lips as she kept track of the escapees… it would seem she had to take care of things before they escalated to much and went completely out of her control.

She raised her hand to her ear and a small magic circle appeared on it. ''Gather everyone and go at the sublevels, our guests have escaped and are making their way to up towards us. I want you to stop them.''

A frown formed on her face as she listened to the suggestions of how take care of the problem, and if they had to bring along the groups new pawn, she didn't like what she was hearing. ''No, leave him behind his powers aren't stable enough to fight. We cannot risk having him go berserk in here.''

There was enough trouble to deal at hand with the current situation and the possibility of adding a rampaging Longinus user to the mix was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

She was confident that the rest of the peerage was enough to stop them. Confident, yes, but trusting in them was something that she had yet to achieve.

* * *

After my allies finally remembered what we were here for in the first place and got their game faces back on we went on exploring the tunnels, and this time with Tomoe holding my hand guiding me like a blind person. It was about fifteen minutes later that we reached an exit from the tunnels, and I finally saw light again, which was a bit hard on my eyes since I stood so long in the dark.

As my amber orbs readjusted themselves to the light I took notice of my new surroundings. ''Seems like some kind of training hall or something.'' I muttered as my fingers trailed against the walls.

The size of it was rather impressive, about the size of a football field, enough space for people to train or spar without clashing against other people also practicing. On the walls there were a series of training objects like sparring mannequins, targets, and weapons among other things. The one thing that caught my attention were the numerous battle marks all over the place, claw marks, burn marks, small craters, and countless signs bloodstains at every step ranging from small drips to small ponds.

This place was used for more than just simple training or sparring.

''Do you guys see any exit around here?'' Tomoe asked as she looked around the area, annoyance present on her face since there was no other door besides the one we came from, and now we hit a dead end.

There might be a chance that we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way, but I highly doubt it. ''Should we go back and check if missed any other pathway?'' Ruruko asked with clear uncertainty in her tone, probably because going back could make us waste valuable time if the right path isn't from where we just came from.

My ears perked just as they started discussing among themselves, the sound of blowing wind getting my attention. Perhaps we were on the right path after all. ''No, we don't have to do that.''

This got the attention of the group, Tsubaki-senpai for one looked quite surprised by this. ''How do you know that?''

I raised my hand and pointed up towards the nearest part of the ceiling. A very obscure railing was built on the wall next to it the position of which being quite hard to spot from our level of sight. Behind it the frame of a door could been seen if one focuses hard enough… or if they reinforce their eyes like in my case. ''I can hear the wind blowing up there, and if you can look hard enough there's a door which hopefully is our exit.''

They stared with narrowed eyes to where I pointed, their faces brightening up as they saw what I was referring to. Momo in fact was more physical about it and gave me a slap on my back. ''Nice one Shirou!''

For a bishop piece that is supposed to mostly enhance a person by their magical abilities, her slap was quite a stinger, but I tried to ignore that as I further scanned the railing until finally finding what I was searching for. ''There's a stairway way over there, that should lead us to the upper levels.''

''Are you sure about that?'' Reya asked me a bit skeptical, to which I couldn't help but be a bit snarky in response.

''We can always use the other door that I missed along the way, or we could stop wasting time and go with the obvious exit.'' I rolled my eyes as the braided girl stared at me, pouting all too slightly.

Momo immediately stepped in and defused the air between me and Reya by patting her best friend on the shoulder and sending me a small glare. ''Look we should move on and there's no need to be a wise guy like that Shirou, it doesn't suit you.''

I nodded as I started walking, keeping a sharp eye around us, who knows if there was anything dangerous around here like a trap door or something.

The moment I stepped forward my eyes gaped as a very familiar sound resonated in the air, focus shifting towards the railing just in time to see two small dots of light rushing towards us.

I didn't have time to think… just to react.

''Down!'' I shouted as I stepped in front of Reya and Momo arms open and extended to the sides.

The two bishops didn't understand what I was doing, as they stared confusedly toward my palms, then both girls went pale as blood erupted from them, and small drips of it landed on their now horrified faces.

''Gahh!'' I tried my best to keep it together but I couldn't suppress my scream, the pain being far too great.

''S-Shirou your hands!'' Tsubasa stuttered as she saw the state my hands were in. There were sharp knife like ends sticking from the back of my palms and blood dripping in rapid place from them.

I tried ignoring the pain in an attempt to see just what penetrated my palms, my ears didn't deceive me earlier, and it was just what I thought it was, the very thing I used to use as I was a member of the archery club.

''Arrows!?'' Saji stated the obvious as he stared the wooden shafts of the arrows currently sticking out of my palms.

This was like an alarm signal with everyone immediately assuming battle positions and scanning around everywhere in the room. Frustration was present on all their faces, especially on Tsubasa who looked for the location of our enemies. ''Where the hell did those come from?!''

I gritted my teeth from the sheer ignorance and lack of battle experience they were showing. I pointed with one of my injured hands towards the place the arrows came from, the edge of the railing. ''U-Up there!''

They all shifted towards where I was pointing at, just in time to notice the arrival of our attackers. Five robed figures were now present in the room, staring down on us from the railing. A series of different scents invading my nose at the same time, and certain aspects of each scent that I couldn't make out. Yet, in each one I could feel something similar to the ones of our peerage.

''God dammit.''

Segrif Zepar's peerage just intercepted us.

Standing right on the railing was a woman with dark skin and short lilac hair, a jade bow resting in her hand as her forest green eyes stared unimpressed at us. ''Oh my, that sure looks painful.''

I gritted my teeth in a mixture of frustration and pain at my assaulter, but it was subdued. To my surprise the man next to her smacked her over the head, electing a painful shout from the girl. ''Ouch! What was that for you brute?''

The said man in question had quite the towering presence, easily passing the two meter height bar and had arms with a girth that were bigger than my head. Although his head was lacking any hair, he did sport a thick brown beard that matched his eyes. His expression was one of annoyance not to us who broke out of their cells, but rather to his comrade. ''Hello! Earth to Miss Long ears over there, our job is to take them out!''

As he said that I focused more carefully at the lilac woman's features, her ears were indeed long, very long and sharp pointing outwards. ''That was what I was doing you big oaf.''

The bald man clicked his tongue. ''Take them out! Not kill them for Pete's sake!''

The long eared woman rolled her eyes at her comrade's antics. ''How do you know I was trying to kill them and not incapacitate them?''

Curiously the girl on her left threw her arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer, lightly stretching the cheek of the woman that ruined my hands. She had bronze like hair that reached her shoulders, her yellow eyes trailing at her hand playing with her friends face. The most eye catching feature on her was a pair of animal ears on the top of her head, resembling those of a dog of some kind. ''Incapacitate? You call shooting someone in the head with an arrow incapacitating?''

At this the long eared woman flinched nervously. ''W-Well the initial aim may seem like a fatal shot, but look at that kid with the goofy hair, he's incapacitated isn't he?''

''Only because he went all hero and defended his comrades.'' The bald man remarked dryly.

''Semantics.'' She rebuked.

''I swear, sometimes I think those ears of yours are just for decorative purposes if you can't hear orders properly.'' another one of the girls in the group remarked, this one had long wavy indigo hair with a single strand hanging between her sharp dark blue eyes.

She threw a glare towards the woman. ''I don't want to hear that from someone with fish breath!''

The pupils of her eyes seemed to have reacted to this, thinning and stretching, becoming sharp slits. ''Oho~ now you did it!''

''Why am I surrounded by idiots?'' the last of the group remarked in a bored tone, his features compared to the others were hidden completely by a hood and a gas mask.

The lilac haired woman gritted her teeth as she stomped her foot down. ''That does it, screw all of you! I'm going back up to eat my pizza, and I'm not sharing with any of you!''

''Damn, just what's her problem?'' The woman with the animal ears remarked as she watched her annoyed comrade leave.

''Must be that time of the month.'' The hooded man snickered, getting two sets of glares from the girls of the group.

''That would explain a lot.'' The bald man nodded solemnly. ''Though with her constant bitching one would think every day is that time for her.''

''Quite.'' His hooded comrade agreed.

The bald man cracked his neck as he shifted his focus on us. ''How about you man, feel like doing some stretching?''

To my surprise the hooded man waved his hand in denial. ''I think I'll pass, you guys go and have fun.''

''So just chilling and watching the show?''

''Pretty much.'' His hooded man replied as he sat himself on the railing with his back against the wall.

''Suit yourself.'' The bald man snickered as he and the two girls started walking down the staircase.

They were all casual. No, not from a fashion point, but from their very body language, they were all relaxed and easy going about this whole situation. Their enemies are right in front of them and outnumber them eight to five, yet two of those five decided that fighting us wasn't worth their time.

All of this can all mean one of two things. Either they are so full of themselves that they are overconfident in their abilities…

Or they are indeed strong and there is no need for them to fight us seriously in the first place.

In either case, battle is right around the corner and I'm currently facing a major problem, as my eyes drifting towards the source of it. Frustration built in me as I stared at them, yet it was like I was staring at someone else's hands. ''... I can't feel my hands.''

As I said this Momo rushed in and grabbed one of my hands, intensely staring at it for a few moments, her blue eyes narrowing in pain at what she was seeing.

''Shirou try moving a finger.'' She ordered me with a flat tone, her attempt of trying to keep herself in control was all too obvious. I complied and tried moving my fingers, yet they refused to do so, even the ones on the opposite hand were lifeless. This lack of reaction made Momo's expression grow even grimmer. ''Dammit, the arrows shredded your tendons. You can't use your hands anymore.''

I was suspecting this, but I still hopped that it wasn't that bad. Of all the things… of all the times that something like this could've happened it just had to be now when I need my hands the most. I was slowly going livid, but I had to find a solution.

My amber orbs focused on the blue eyes of the white haired bishop. ''Can you and Reya heal them?''

This question made Momo's expression grow even darker, so instead Reya answered my question. ''We can, but healing an injury of this level is delicate work, it will take time.''

My teeth gritted so hard, almost cracking from the pressure I was putting on them. ''We don't have time! Those guys will be here any second.''

They acted like they didn't just see my outburst, and focused entirely on my hands. ''Momo you do the left hand while I do the right, that should speed things up a little more.''

Before I could even get the chance to comment about this I felt a soft hand over my shoulder, looking at my backside I saw Tsubaki-senpai offering a reassuring smile. ''Shirou… stay put and let them heal you properly. We'll take care of this.''

I didn't want this, there's no way I can accept something like this. ''I can't just sit back and do nothing! I can still- Gahh!''

My legs gave in and I fell to my knees, grunting and gasping for air as Tsubasa just kneed me in my solar plexus, her blue eyes looking down on me uninterested. ''That you should keep you put for a bit. Do your thing girls before he starts struggling again.''

As I laid there on my knees weak and useless on the floor our enemies finished descending, now face to face with us. Tsubasa and Ruruko assumed battle positions, Tsubaki-senpai called forth a naginata, and Tomoe summoned and unsheathed Juuchi Yosamu.

I turned around as I felt a strong grip on my shoulder, Saji's gauntlet covered hand around it. ''Emiya, you fought for us and defeated Kurosaiga back then, now it's our turn to fight and defend you.''

I couldn't fight and was now forced to watch as the others slowly walked forward to do so in my place. This feeling was consuming me from the inside. Hatred for my own inability and my recklessness.

A new battle is starting.

 _And I can't do anything._

* * *

 **Attention! Due to technical difficulties Taiga's Dojo will be on break.**

 **However, to not leave any of the readers that are still reading this with a sour taste in their mouths, we are offering you a new segment.**

 **Omake: The adventures of the Emiya house.**

Sella was quite confident in her skills as a maid. Whether it was cooking, cleaning, or any other kind of house chore she would always complete them with professionalism and ability worthy for one that holds the title of Einzbern maid.

However she was quite bemused by the challenge she was now facing, that of babysitting.

''There, there, my lady.'' She tried her best to calm down the crying form of the infant lllya, yet she was failing miserably. Her master decided to tag along with her husband on his latest mission and thus left Sella with taking care of her daughter and adoptive son until she returned. Nothing difficult she assumed at first, how hard would it be for a homunculus of her pedigree to take care of a baby?

Never did she imagine that the strength of a babies lungs were so great, or how Illya could keep on crying over and over again no matter how much she cuddled her.

If it wasn't bad enough that she wouldn't stop crying no matter what she tried, Shirou the newly adopted boy of her masters kept on staring at her the entire time. It was only when Sella finally asked him what he wanted did he say what was on his mind. ''Do you want me to try?''

She was a little annoyed by that question, not only was he doubting her abilities of taking care of her young mistress, he was trying to take that from her too. ''No, that is not necessary.''

At that moment it was like Illya somehow understood what was going on and increased the output of her crying, something which Sella didn't imagine was possible. Shirou himself was quite taken aback by this, his eyes half closing as he stared at the maid. ''You sure?''

It hurt her pride as a maid to be doubted like this, but she was quite at the end of her strength herself, the previous night's barely gave her enough time to sleep since Illya would wake up from time to time and it would take hours for her to get back to sleep. Oh, to hell with it. ''I-If you insist, though I doubt it will make any difference.''

The moment the small form of Illya was passed from Sella to Shirou, as if a magic spell was casted, she suddenly stopped crying.

To say that Sella couldn't believe it was an understatement, her tired eyes staring for about a minute to confirm that she didn't somehow fall asleep and was dreaming. ''Can I have her back for a moment?''

Shirou was a bit hesitant, but he complied, Illya did calm down already after all so that was all that mattered. The moment the exchange was made though the baby's mouth snapped open and instantly the crying returned. The red haired boy could only stare at his white haired guardian with half lidded eyes. ''I don't think that was a good idea.''

''You don't say…'' Sella muttered unsure of what to think about this turn of events. She couldn't fathom a reason why she would calm down in Shirou's arms and not her own. More tests had to be done before she could speculate on a theory.

An exchange was performed once again… And again… And again… and so on for a minute. Every time she reached Shirou she would magically calm down, while whenever she was passed back to Sella she would break down crying.

This was becoming quite frustrating for the Einzbern maid. ''Why is it that she calms down only when you hold her?''

''No clue.'' Shirou replied in a flat tone, he was just as confused as she was.

The woman that had been sitting on the couch and munching on potato chips this whole time finally decided to speak up.

''You have… scary eyes… Sella.'' Leysritt remarked in her pausing tone.

''I certainly do not!'' Her sister snapped at her, quite annoyed by her since she hasn't even done the slightest thing to help out and sit there munching on junk food this whole time. It wasn't enough that she just vacuumed the room and Liz made crumbles all over the floor, she had the gall to call her eyes scary. She turned around to further prove her statement by asking the one person she knew wouldn't lie. ''Isn't that right Shirou?''

She blinked a few times, Shirou and Illya were both gone. She quickly scanned the room and caught sight of him at the door, the boy flinching as he saw that he was spotted, similar to a deer caught in the headlights. ''I, ah, I'm just taking Illya for a walk in the backyard.''

The boy left the room on the double, leaving a frozen maid behind with her sister, yet said sister couldn't resist the urge to throw one more jab. ''See… you scared him.''

Sella didn't say anything and simply walked towards the kitchen. Once she finds that damn frying pan she will return and give Liz a piece of her mind.

As livid as she was, she was still curious to why her young mistress preferred being held by her brother instead of her. She would keep an eye on the boy, she could never know what the future holds. The young girl might grow with a brother complex if she isn't too careful.

 _…Oh, if she only knew._

* * *

 **Author notes:**

'Sup guys, how you all doing?

So I did another cliffhanger just when things were getting interesting… yeah I can already hear people hit on my door.

Anyway I hope I made the chapter interesting enough even though it lacked any actual battle.

For those of you that are preparing complains that I'm trying to justify Segrif for his actions, I'm not doing that exactly, and I'm trying to give more depth to his character. It's fairly easy to just make him pure stereotypical or a Riser or Diodora copy, but making him more original is not so easy that's for sure. While he isn't meant to be a likable character in any way, I'm trying to make his actions seem more meaningful even though they seem reckless or stupid.

If anyone here wants Serafall to arrive and make Segrif go through a world of pain, well rejoice, she will. Exactly at what point that will happen, I won't say.

In other news Tsubaki almost got raped this chapter… yeah… that almost happened… if I offended any of you I humbly apologize.

Next chapter will have the battles… which I mentioned that will begin this chapter… and I dragged on and didn't get into them.

So I've been watching the new season of dxd and I'm quite satisfied with it. Finally got to saw Yasaka, and boy oh boy talk about a foxy vixen, though kunou on the other hand looks much older compared to her LN illustrations. I also missed Rossweise, her being drunk and crying over being single is hilarious.

I'm quite amazed that no character remarked how much Siegfried and Freed look alike. I mean that is pretty much Freed if he took some damn anti psychotics.

I just loved Le Fay's appearance, she is just so cute. Though, doesn't she seem a bit older? Ah, who cares.

Also that ending, whoever made that scene with Xenovia's booty is a man of culture; even Vali would give a thumbs up if he saw it.

You know there's something that I've been wondering. Would any of you like artwork of this story? I do have a little skill in anime style drawings and I've been considering doing some for this story. But it's still debatable whenever I should get on it or not, drawing takes me more time than writing…

Special thanks for all who sent me messages of support last chapter concerning my grandmother, i greatly appreciate it.

That being said, I will see you next time. It may take me a little more since I will do multiple battle scenes, but I will try my best.

Now if you all excuse me, i'm off to see the Heavens Feel movie.

* * *

 **Let's answer some reviews:**

ABC5dashboard: I will keep in mind that advice in mind as I wrote in the future.

StoryReiter: Ok… I'm quite confused, so you're saying you're dropping this story or something? Because I didn't quite get what you were referring to.

Good stories here: Trust me I'm trying…

bluefish1945: I did actually consider that idea, but with the way I'm planning things, it would be best to avoid that. Don't get me wrong the idea is good, just a couple of tidy bits that comes with it.

Ferdiad: Well I can agree with that somewhat, but in all honesty breaking up couples could ruin things, I mean there is a LOT of shippers out there and the moment you ruin their otp things can get nasty. Anyhow, I'm trying to take it slow and build up solid foundations for each potential relationship, since I for one don't really like it when the guy meets girl, guy does something nice or epic and then the girl is completely gaga over him.

Starlight's Poet : Kiritsugu would probably be suffering side by side with Shirou, as much as the man loves his wife even he isn't affected by her antics. About which EMIYA this archer is, he is the EMIYA from the true end of the UBW route. About EMIYA alter though; I might have an idea for him to make an appearance in one form or another.

GameCrusher55: Wait, time out, time out. I only rated it M for violence and possible erotic content in the long run, I would never resume to actual rape, attempted at most, but not real one, sure I can also make violent and gore scenes but that's a zone I don't want to go in.

pyre101: Archer has his own little agenda, but he is helping shirou, just much more discreet and unnoticeable than shirou realizes.

Fireofargentis: Well I do plan to give Ayako a certain role and powers in this story so she has relevance compared to the canon. Well that's normal since Iri is more of a child herself than an adult in my opinion, so I'm exploiting that. He won't miss it, just get there a little late.

cmartist: You have your reasons to doubt why he would still be distorted given what you read up until now, however you don't have to worry, i have everything covered and it will all make sense when what really happened during the 4th grail war gets revealed to shirou.

Dareth: Yeah, sorry about that, i will avoid doing that in the future.

Shining Maelstrom: Yep, so i did. Is there any other dxd character wacky enough to use such a name?

Lord Naruto: Finally someone that figured it out. Now regarding the low blow part you pointed out, it depends on how things are done, if it's just reveal then bam he appears it will be a bit of a nasty tease, but if it's when Shirou is fighting it and losing then it's a dynamic entry so it might work.

Masterx01: Again about the circuits… the evil pieces can't repair them because they are damaged so to say, just untrained, it's like asking someone who just started the gym to lift a really heavy weight and expect him to do it without any trouble. Shirou will need time to properly master them and increase their capacity. About Maiya… for real? I mean she never really displayed any form of magecraft in the fate/zero anime and I think that most people are assuming that she is just human. Well now I did what I did so I can't back up, so I'll let it be, it's not like it affects the story overall.

alexkellar: A fair point, I do tend to kinda drag out when its rather unnecessary... huh… now that I look at the last chapters I really haven't had any proper action in a while… shit… that does it I'm looping limit breaker x survivor in my headphones when I'm writing next chapter and I will make this arc a battle fiesta!

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, I could use some constructive criticism.**


	13. Forging Hands

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _ **I stood alone…**_

 _ **Thinking where it all began…**_

 _ **The first nick…**_

 _ **There were so many of them…**_

 _ **So many that I wasn't sure which the starting one was anymore …**_

 _ **I got up and faced the sunset…**_

 _ **I will need weapons.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 13:**

 **Forging Hands**

* * *

''He's late…'' Illya commented with a sigh, her cheek resting uncomfortably on the kitchen table.

''Who is Illya-san?'' Sella asked as she was washing the dishes.

''Onii-chan…'' she muttered as she buried her face in the table, depressed that Shirou was once again running late.

The white haired maid could understand Illya's concern, with how Shirou's luck tends to go into the negative zone she wouldn't be surprised if he got himself in a fight on the way back home. Still with how steady Shirou's magecraft training has been going on lately she doesn't have anything to worry about. While the boy would be a joke as a researcher, as a combatant he is showing promise, something which can be attested by Maiya herself. ''There's no need to worry, I'm sure he is just running late with school work.''

On the other side of the table Miyu sighed as well. ''This has been happening quite often the past month hasn't it?''

''I honestly lost count Miyu.'' Illya nodded with half lidded eyes.

''Depressed?'' Liz asked as she just walked in the kitchen, a popsicle present in her hand.

''N-No…'' The white haired pre-teen denied with a blush on her face.

Noticing this Miyu decided to defend her sister figure with a solid and logical argument. Something she was quite versed with coming up on the spot, as it was a skill she picked up from her adoptive mother. ''I guess it's a matter of change. He used to spend time with us whenever he was free, something which is pretty rare these days.''

Sella could actually empathize with that, truth be told with how Shirou is dividing his time between school, training, magecraft, and other chores, the two of them don't really spend that much time together anymore either. Sure they do have magecraft lessons together, but interaction during lessons was strictly related to thaumaturgy. She couldn't believe that she actually missed the times they would cook together. All that aside, she was still the adult in the room and had to put things in a way that Illya and Miyu could understand. ''Illya-san, Miyu-san, I can understand that your brother doesn't spend that much time with you lately, but you also have to understand that he is getting older and maturing. He will have new responsibilities and other priorities. He is in his second year of high school and there's no telling what he will chose to do with his life after he graduates, so it's better to appreciate even the shorter time you spend together now. ''

Both girls pondered about what Sella said for a little, they didn't exactly like the sound of it but they nodded nonetheless. ''I guess… but I don't really like the idea that he is spending so much time with all those girls.''

''He is rather late though.'' Miyu changed the subject before Sella could catch onto what Illya was unintentionally implying.

The Einzbern maid sighed, while it was heartwarming to see that there was harmony in the family, it was starting to get tiring. ''I'm sure he is fine, he is probably having a good day.''

* * *

''I'm having such a bad day.'' I commented as I stared the people approaching.

Battle was at the proverbial doorstep meanwhile I'm incapacitated and forced to watch the others fight without even having the chance to help.

Sella did teach me the basics for healing magecraft but it was still just basics. I was books away from learning how to heal wounds of this caliber, the most I could do at the moment was numb the pain and heal small scrapes. That being said all I could do was rely on the healing magic from Momo and Reya… which even though it's working was far too slow.

I could feel the Momo glare from on my right as she tried to heal my hand in tandem with Reya, obviously also unsatisfied with the current situation. ''Shirou, please stay still, when you move around your ripping apart what just healed and we have to go back to square one.''

I gritted my teeth, I didn't like this situation at all but I didn't have any alternative, I had to endure it. ''Sorry… I just can't calm down knowing that the enemies are right in front of us.''

Momo didn't say anything and just sighed, it was Reya that decided to speak her mind. ''I know, trust me I do, but we have to do what we can. Once we heal you we can go and support them.''

She was right… at least from a practical point she was, but it still didn't quell the turmoil in my heart. There was one thing that I truly detested doing more than anything else, and that was a being burden to those around me. This was the thing I have tried my best to avoid all my life, for the very idea repulsed me.

The fact that I was useless right now made me feel the urge to throw up.

''Please hurry.'' I muttered as I focused on the approaching enemies, perhaps I don't have any way to help them now, but I will be dammed if I stay put without doing anything.

* * *

The Sitri peerage slowly walked towards their opposition, stoic and focused looks present on all their faces as they marched on. In contrast the opposing side however was the picture definition of casual, walking without a care in the world, as if they just went for a stroll in the park.

Saji was keeping his guard up; the jewel within his gauntlet was flickering with a dim purple glow, almost showcasing his inner turmoil. One could tell by the look in his eyes that he was feeling nervous, said eyes now focusing on the girl on his left. ''So Tsubaki-senpai, any strategies we should follow?'' he asked.

The black haired queen didn't respond immediately, taking her time to think, her hand tightening around the shaft of her naginata as she spoke. ''None that I can't think of at the moment, we lack proper information about them so I have no idea how to counter them. For the moment we will have to make due with our advantage in numbers.''

The two groups finally met up, stopping in their tracks a few meters distance between them. The tension felt from the Sitri group was so heavy one could cut it with a knife.

Tsubaki narrowed her eyes at the enemies in front of them, checking each from head to toe, looking for any visible indication of what she may expect from them. There were three opponents and five of them, so she had to divide the teams in the most efficient way possible. Two seconds later she assumed a battle position, her naginata raised and ready to strike as she gave out commands.

''Tsubasa, Tomoe, you take the man on the left. Saji, Ruruko, promote and take the woman on the right.'' Her eyes narrowed at the woman in front of her. ''I will face the woman in the middle.''

''Yes!'' The four members of the student council nodded as they split up, positioning themselves in front of their designated opponents.

The Zepar group on the other hand had different reactions from what one might have expected, in fact two of them appeared to be in a rather good mood. The bald man in particular began chuckling like a little kid who just got a new toy. ''Oh, two for the price of one! What a lucky day!''

''Ditto!'' the woman with the strange animal ears responded in similar excitement.

The purple haired woman on the other hand seemed a little down by these set of events, her eyes focused on Saji instead of Tsubaki. ''Ah shoots, and I wanted to fight the pretty boy.''

The animal ears of the bronze haired woman twitched when they heard this complaint from her teammate. ''Tell you what girl, I will beat him up without damaging his face and you can have him when I'm done.''

A large smile crept on the woman's face, revealing an alarming number of sharp teeth, said woman walking over to her animal eared teammate and sharing a high-five with her. ''Deal.''

The bald man cracked his neck as he studied Tomoe and Tsubasa, a small smirk present on his face. ''So should we do presentations or something?''

The two servants of Sona Sitri didn't respond and just glared at him. Their attempt of intimidation only made him chuckle. ''I will take that as a yes, names Sasha.''

Tomoe seemed somewhat surprised as she heard the man's name, said surprise quickly morphing into a powerful laughter. ''Pfff! That's a girl's name!''

Tsubasa only rolled her eyes in regards to her teammate's sense of humor, laughing about one's name? Really? At a time like this? What was she a damn middle school student?

The man now revealed as Sasha on the other hand seemed rather affected by the remark on his name, veins throbbing in his forehead while a noticeable blush was present on his checks. ''No it isn't! It's a perfectly normal name for a man to have.''

''Yeah, sure it is, if you work at a gay bar.'' The purple haired woman remarked quite loudly from her position, making sure that everyone heard her, smugness all too present in her tone of voice.

This made Sasha see red.

''Don't make me break your face Priscilla!'' he snapped at the purple haired woman who kept chuckling to herself, his focus then shifting to the other girl who on the other hand has snickering uncontrollably. ''That goes double for you Ruki!''

Tomoe and Tsubasa could only stare at the man, apparently someone had a bit of complex about his name. Seeing his own teammates dig into him like that they honestly felt a bit sorry for the guy.

''Women…'' He spit to the side as he tried to ignore the antics of his teammates, returning his attention to the high school girls in front of him. His good mood was pretty much gone and only an irritated scowl remained on his features. His eyes drifted to the side at his comrades as he let out a tired sigh. ''Ok let's break some bones before I start punching those bitches in the cun-''

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Tsubasa punched her fist right into his cheek, the flesh getting stretched to the side, deforming his face, yet there was no reaction from the man. All for the exception of a smirk that began creeping across his face, a very disturbing image considering how her punch was still buried in his face. A sense of dread of ran through Tsubasa upon witnessing his reaction, making her back up and regroup.

Sasha tilted his head to the side, rubbing his face gently, revealing that there wasn't as much as a scratch on it… and Tsubasa put all her strength in that punch. ''Nice punch, it actually hurt a little.''

He raised his fist upwards, right over his collar bone. Sparks flew as he blocked the sword swing that came from above, shock instantly morphing on Tomoe's face as her surprise attack had been easily dealt with. ''You on the other hand I don't even feel like giving a free shot, I'm not into cutting myself.''

She used his back as footing and jumped backwards, quickly regrouping with Tsubasa, her eyes staring in confusion to how his fist was able to block her swing. Her eyes narrowing on what was sticking out of the skin of his fist, green bits of scale like pieces could be seen.

''W-What are those?'' Tomoe muttered in confusion as she didn't recognize what it was, however she had to push all those thoughts aside as Sasha rushed in trying to punch her. There was barely any time for her to properly block him with her sword, the moment of impact felt like she just got hit by a raging bull. ''H-Heavy!''

She tried her best to push back, but the man's strength toppled her own, sending her stumbling into a nearby wall.

The man's smile grew feral as he enjoyed what he just did, and this was only the beginning of the party.

* * *

Saji narrowed his eyes at the girl before him, while he usually had a 'don't hit women' policy he was ready to shove it somewhere else since these guys were standing in their way to save Sona. He carefully gauged his opponent, while she was a cute looking girl in his book he wasn't going to go easy on her. He would admit he wasn't a genius but even he could tell that this girl will be pain to deal with, the staff that she was holding being pretty much a giveaway that she is a magic user. Just the kind of opponent he didn't want to deal with since in all honestly he sucked at using and understanding magic.

He glanced over towards Ruruko for a couple of seconds gesturing with his eyes, the fellow pawn nodded as she understood what he wanted her to do.

Both pawns focused and raised their guards at Ruki, who looked quite joyous. ''So any of you kids in the mood for some mischief?''

The two pawns ignored her and followed their Queen's instructions; they wouldn't waste any time messing around here. '' **Promotion Queen!** ''

While pawns may be the weakest pieces in chess, the ability to promote to any other evil piece with the exception of the king allowed them to jump up great leaps of power in a matter of seconds. The Queen piece particularly was the most sought after promotion since it raised strength, speed, and magical traits in spite of the heavy burden it places on the user's body.

That burden right now was something insignificant considering what losing here meant.

Both pawns rushed towards Ruki, each from opposite sides, cutting off available routes for her to run or dodge. Saji went in raising his gauntlet clad fist and aimed for the girl's face, while Ruruko pulled her leg back and aimed for her ribs.

Ruki didn't react in response to the incoming attacks, in fact she just smiled gleefully. ''It seems you are!''

Saji smiled as his face made contact with her face, but it slowly changed into an unhinged gasp, for his fist passed through her face, the same happening to Ruruko, her leg passing through her abdomen.

As both pawns made contact with her body, it exploded in a cloud of smoke, a single small tree leaf left behind in its place as the two Pawns smashed into each other violently.

''W-What the?!'' Saji muttered in shock as he tried to untangle himself from Ruruko, only to stare in shock as Ruki was now behind them, shoving the tip of her staff into his cheek like he was some kind of zoo animal.

''You won't believe how funny that scene was!'' She laughed like a little kid, still poking Saji in the face. The blonde pawn was anything but amused; he won't rest until he got to punch her in the face as much as it went against his principles.

* * *

Tsubaki was feeling quite livid, this day just kept getting worse by the minute. First Segrif showed up and knocked them out, then they were thrown into a cage like some wild animals, she almost got sexually abused by a pig of a man, and now she has to fight with the peerage of her master's ex-fiancée. In short, she was having a really shit day and was very tempted to let loose some of that frustration on Priscilla. She was trying to keep it together as rushing into a situation without thinking properly can have detrimental effects, exhibit A being a certain red haired teen that got his hands crippled and now couldn't fight.

Priscilla on the other hand appeared to be in a rather peachy mood, flipping her hair backwards as she examined her opponent. ''So I take it you're Sona Sitri's Queen?''

Tsubaki didn't really want to talk to her, but at this point she really didn't care that much and just humored her. ''… Yes.''

''Charmed.'' Priscilla replied with a wink.

''At least one of us is.'' Tsubaki muttered under her breath weighing her options before deciding to take initiative as she dashed forward thrusting her naginata towards the purple haired woman.

Priscilla smiled as she simply leaned backwards, her back reaching near the breaking points of a normal spine, the blade of Tsubaki's weapon cutting only the air above her. ''Oh my, going for battle immediately, not one for chit chat are we?''

The black haired Queen stabbed the blade of her weapon into the ground, using it to pivot around, the momentum increasing the strength and power of the kick she aimed at the woman's right arm sending her stumbling a few meters. ''This coming from the group that abducted us.''

The woman got up and dusted herself without a care, the attack clearly failed to do any remarkable damage. ''We are just following orders.'' A smile crept on her face, the pupils of her eyes turning to thin slits. ''Another one of our orders was to take care of you kids without killing you, however that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun with you while we do that.''

She looked curiously to her side, her right arm, noticing the way her muscles were twisted around, the kick the Sitri queen delivered had more force in it than she expected. However that didn't bother her even a bit, raising her arm in the air the muscles all twisted themselves back to their original position. As she flexed her arm, she took notice of Tsubaki's bewildered expression. ''What kind of body is that?''

''A flexible one?'' She teased dashing forward, her arms up and ready to attack.

Tsubaki thrust her weapon forward, preparing to swing it the moment she saw the woman try and avoid the attack. Yet that didn't happen, she went straight ahead, her body twisting itself around the weapon like a snake just moments before the impact.

She was so confused by what was happening that she didn't even register when the woman punched her in the liver, jolts of pain were sent all over her insides. It was so painful that she couldn't manage to keep herself up, letting go of her weapon, and dropping to her knees. She began squirming and gasping from the pain while she tried to pull herself together.

From the brute strength she just felt first hand she ruled out the possibility of her being a pawn, a knight, and most certainly not a bishop. This was definitely the kind of strength you find in either a rook or queen.

''Did that hurt?'' Priscilla said as she slithered her way towards her, body long and coiling around itself, as if the woman didn't have any bones left in her body. Her body rose up and straightened itself, slowly filling itself back up, and returning to her previous appearance. ''Maybe I used too much force, I tend to forget that most reincarnated devils are former humans.''

The black haired queen felt bile rise in her throat, this being the first time she ever took such a blow to her liver. It was one thing knowing that liver blows can stun and weaken a person if done right, but it was another experience entirely to feel it with her own body. In any other circumstances she would have been impressed, but in this case she was quite bitter towards the woman in front of her. However a spark ignited, from her previous statement something stood out. ''Y-You talk like you weren't humans yourselves.''

The woman simply stared at Tsubaki for a few moments, the corners of her mouth spreading all the way to her ears, a sinister smile etched on her face, and twisted laughter bursting out from her as if she just heard the best joke ever made.

''You are wrong on so many levels.'' She said as her laughing died out, neck tilting sideways in a perfect 'L' shape as purple demonic energy began violently erupting forth from her body. ''Hey you S.O.B.'s, I don't know about you but I feel like cutting loose here!''

This single action caused her comrades to smile in a similarly disturbing manner.

''Oh my, when you let out power like that I can't help but respond.'' Ruki commented as she stabbed her staff in the ground, bronze demonic energy started gushing from Ruki who was excited to let loose.

''Lets kick this in high gear.'' Sasha roared as he smashed his fists together, a large burst of green demonic energy appearing just like his comrades as he followed suit in response to their actions.

The demonic energies emanating from the three of them were amazing. While the overall intensity from each of them wasn't on the same level as Kurosaiga, they weren't that much behind him; no doubt the opponents they were facing were at least mid-class level.

Another major difference that the Sitri household noticed was that their energy was different from a regular reincarnated devil, theirs felt much more feral, closer to an animal than a humans. However, the most important thing that concerned the fighters at the moment was that their opponents were changing. Their very skin began peeling away, their bodies changing in form and sizes, and their new appearance ripped apart the cloaks that they were wearing.

With a single flash of multicolored lights, their energies vanished, revealing their new forms to the Sitri team, and their eyes widening along with their mouths unhinging as they saw what they were facing.

''Perhaps some proper introductions are in order.'' Priscilla began, her body was barely the same it was before, while most of her upper body remained unchanged she was now covered in purple fish like scales, gills present on her upper abdomen, and her hair merged together into what appears to be smaller tentacles with two larger ones draping over the sides of her face. Her lower half on the other hand was completely changed, starting from her hips her legs were now replaced by eight octopus like tentacles.

''My name is Priscilla, a former Scylla.'' She raised her hands and pointed to her two comrades, both sporting new appearances as well.

Sasha for one grew larger and thicker in size, skin now replaced by dark green lizard scales, a tail wiggling from his back, mouth replaced by a long snout, and both arms and legs baring sharp talons that looked like they were freshly polished.

Ruki on the other hand seemed more asymmetric than before, her hair grew longer and was now accentuated with black highlights. Right behind her first set of ears a new pair grew, similar to those of a hound, behind her back three tails were now playing with each other. The one in the middle which was brown in color was similar to one of a raccoon dog, while the other two were black and were similar to those of a hound. Her lower arms and legs were now covered by thick fur, a mix of brown and black, her nose grew longer and from it three pairs of whiskers were growing.

''The man over there is Sasha, a former lizardman and the girl over there is Ruki, a former tanuki.'' She began laughing once again, a long tongue hanging out of her mouth all the way to her collar bone. ''So the fact that you called us former humans was just so hilarious, because it clearly showed that you have no idea who you're dealing with.''

Tsubaki picked back up her naginata and instinctively increased her grip on her weapon.

This wouldn't be an easy fight, of that she was certain.

* * *

Meanwhile Tomoe and Tsubasa were feeling quite nervous, Sasha was already a large and imposing man even before the whole transformation, but now he was making them feel quite intimidated with his new appearance.

Sasha on the other hand didn't focus on them, but instead he looked towards his own body, eyes narrowing over his form and sighing quite tiredly. ''Man I really need to get some of these scales clipped.''

His easy going attitude was getting on the girls nerves, especially for Tsubasa, the bluennete for one had enough of this charade.

She raised her guard and tightened her fists, immediately dashing towards him in a zigzag, and with her aim focused directly on his open chest. ''Just because you grew a tail and some scales, won't be enough to stop me from pummeling you!''

Sasha simply took a step back up and avoided her strike, causing the Sitri rook to grind her teeth in frustration, however she pushed on, and launching punch after punch as she went on and attacked the lizardman, but none connected.

While this dance between them went on, Tomoe circled around them preparing to strike, her eyes focused and searching for the right moment to make her move. When he avoided a surprised kick from Tsubasa she noticed his guard was lowered.

That was the moment she was waiting for.

Using her speed as a knight she rushed towards the lizardman and aimed for the opening, however that didn't go unnoticed, for Sasha spotted her with the corner of his eyes. A serious look forming on his face as he caught the next punch that Tsubasa threw, his scales glowing orange as Tomoe entered his range. A single word getting muttered as the black blade was drawing near. ''Burn.''

It happened in an instant, steam rose from his body and was followed by the pain filled scream of the blue haired rook. He let go of her hand, revealing the now red and blistered skin on it, as steam was rising from it.

As Tsubasa was busy squirming in her pain, Sasha took the opportunity to take care of his other approaching opponent. He grabbed Tsubasa with his tail and threw her like a ragdoll at her fellow teammate, causing her stop in her tracks, she put her sword aside in a desperate attempt to prevent Tsubasa from getting hurt by it. Yet she didn't have time to stop her from crashing into her.

Both girls were sent stumbling into a nearby wall, Tomoe suffering the most damage as she was forced to soften the impact for Tsubasa by using her own body. They fell down on the floor and weakly tried to get up, Tomoe coughing out a mouthful of blood while Tsubasa was trying desperately to clench her burnt hand.

''Ahhhhh!'' The blue haired rook screamed both from pain and frustration, her eyes glaring daggers at the lizardman. ''What the hell was that?!''

''The results of the boss's research.'' Sasha snickered as he opened his fist, steam rising violently from it as a soft orange glow flickered in his eyes. ''Chimerafication.''

''Chimerafication? The hell is that?'' Tsubasa muttered as she had never heard of such a word.

The servant of Segrif Zepar spit to the side, visibly annoyed by the Tsubasa's question. ''Trust me you don't want me to go into detail about it, I don't have all day to just talk, but I'll keep it short. My boss cut me and those other three you saw open and experimented on us turning us into chimera hybrids.''

Both girls gasped as this little bit of information went through their heads. Segrif Zepar actually turned his own peerage members into some kind of chimera hybrids?

It was absurd, making an abstraction by the whole chimera part that man actually went out of his way and did who knows what kind of sick procedures in order to make them like this. They were well aware that in the case of Sona, they were lucky that she was a kind and understanding master. One who would never mean them harm, and they also knew that there were many kings that abused their pieces, forcing them do things that shouldn't be spoken of or go through experiences that would forever leave them scarred.

So seeing the result of one such king who made his peerage go through such an action was making them sick to their stomach.

Sasha for one seemed to take delight in the horrified expression of the girls, his tail wiggling all too excitedly behind his back. ''I for one was just a simple lizardman without any remarkable abilities or talent, but with the genes of a salamander and some other reptilian creature that the boss integrated in me, I now have a steel like hide and can raise my internal temperature to cremating degrees.''

A vicious smirk formed on his face as he watched the blisters form on Tsubasa's hands. ''So if you were planning to fight me like that, your hands will burn to ash long before they can even damage me.''

He crouched down on all four members and instantly pounced towards them, the two girls having barely any time to prepare themselves against his assault. His first target was Tsubasa, stepping in close he delivered a devastating punch to her gut. Blood and bile began escaping her mouth, her eyes dilating as she felt a burning pain besides the one from the punch, Sasha having used his residual heat to also cause her intense burns, and things were only getting worse and worse with every second his fist remained in contact with her body.

Tomoe saw this and tried to interfere, raising her sword to her shoulder level and performed a thrusting strike at the lizardman.

Seeing the strike aimed at him the lizardman pulled back his sizzling fist and turned his body slightly to the side. The fist that burned her friend was now open with its fingers curled, as if waiting to grab something. When Tomoe's blade entered his range he did something that she honestly didn't expect, he punched it with his other fist. To further increase her shock no blood was shed, just sparks resulted from the clash of her weapon's edge and the steel like scales of the Zepar house member.

Her strike now disrupted, her arms just hanged in the air without any force behind them, Sasha grabbed her sword with his open hand, and a sinister chuckle escaped from his serpentine mouth. ''That's a good sword you got there, but your attacks are too shallow, you will never cut through my scales with this level of power.''

Tomoe gritted her teeth in frustration; the normally bubbly member of the team was having a hard time keeping it together. The man in front of them was the worst kind of opponent for her and Tsubasa, not only were his defensive capabilities ridiculous, but that internal heat trick of his was basically steam cooking anyone who dare to get too close to him.

They couldn't win… that was the realization that hit her at the very same moment that the lizardmans rock hard tail slapped her down to the ground.

* * *

''So what do you think of my new look?'' Ruki asked the two pawns in front of her as she did a small spin on her heels, fondling her new wolf tails. ''Merging a tanuki with the genes of a wolf along with other canine races makes quite the cute thing don't you think?''

Saji and Ruruko were slowly raising their guards up, the anxiousness from the battle beginning to form within them as they scanned the girl's new appearance. Ruruko was breathing in and out, trying to calm herself and put her mind into order. Saji on the other hand while going through the same state of shock as his fellow pawn, decided to clear his mind in a different way.

''You were prettier before if you ask me, also you should shave those legs and arms.'' He remarked as a small smirk formed on his lips.

His way of calming down consisted of running his mouth without thinking twice about what he was saying.

While it did help him ease up a little, it had the complete opposite effect on his opponent, a vein was throbbing violently on Ruki's forehead as a feral smile spread on her face. ''I will beat you up now.''

She pulled from her pocket nine tree leaves and threw them in the air, tapping her staff to the ground before they had the chance to fall down, light erupted from them as nine clouds of smoke formed around her body. As the smoke dispersed Saji could only gulp nervously as now nine more copies of Ruki appeared. All of them together with the original moved around from their previous spots, completely shuffling the original between the copies. The blond pawn could only think of one word to describe this turn of events. ''Shit!''

''Indeed!'' all copies responded in perfect sync as they dashed towards Saji and Ruruko.

Both of them braced themselves and prepared for the clash, the first two clones that reached them got greeted with an uppercut from Saji and a low kick from Ruruko respectfully, but they only wasted energy, the hits passing through them as if they were weren't even there to begin with.

Saji didn't get the chance to pull himself back together as other three clones hit his face with their staffs at the same time. They then pulled back and circled around him, two new clones joining in and proceeded to jab their staff tips into his knee, making the boy shriek in pain and stumble down.

This was getting ridiculous, he could tell by the pain alone that only one of them was real, but by the time he realized which was the real one the damage had already been done. Saji didn't consider himself a genius, but even he knew that with the way the girl kept hiding herself among her illusions while attacking together with them, there's no way for him to know which is the real one.

''Saji-senpai!'' Ruruko seeing this tried to rush and help him, only to fall and stumble as two of the clones tripped her.

This really got on Saji's nerves, with the adrenaline rushing in his system numbing his pain he pushed himself back up and pointed his gauntlet forward. Its jewel eyes flashing as the line rushed towards the clones, but once again it was for naught.

The clones started circling around him again, even faster this time. The pawn desperately tried to find the original among them, the echoing laughter of the group making his frustration grow even further.

Three of them got behind him striking his left kidney as giggles erupting all around from witnessing the pawns cringing pain. ''I'm over here!''

Five other clones jumped up above him and aimed for his shoulder, the boy attempted to block the strikes but didn't know which was the real one, he could only guard against three of them however all three were fakes. He gnashed his teeth as he felt his shoulder almost dislocating from the blow. ''No, I'm here!''

A deep frown etched on his face as he backed up and aimed his gauntlet for one of the clones, receiving a surprise response from the group. ''Hey, that's a clone you're going for!''

Perhaps it was his anger that was clouding his judgment, perhaps he was just rushing in without thinking properly, but the boy reacted to this. By all means he had no reason to listen to anything the girl in front of him had to say, in fact it would have been idiotic to so.

And yet he did.

In a single second of poor decision, he switched his aim to another clone, firing his line at her. It just passed through her like it did with the others.

''Lol, I can't believe you actually fell for that, what a complete idiot.'' The clones all laughed at the pawns poor choice in moves. If he only would have been properly focused he would have hit the real one.

He lost a rare opportunity to take out the enemy… Now he was back at square one.

This was making his hope fade little by little. The more this battle dragged on the more beaten up and tired he became. Even Ruruko wouldn't last much longer, while she wasn't the target of Ruki's beatings like he was, the twin tailed pawn kept on attacking the clones in an attempt to find the real one. Though it was a good plan, it had its drawbacks, with the way the clones kept changing position all the time it all came down to whether Ruruko could find the real one before her stamina ran out.

It was a damn game.

A game that would be over if he didn't find a way to flip things to his favor that thought kept plaguing his mind so strongly that he didn't register the hand that squirmed around him from his neck. His eyes widened as he tried to react, but he wasn't fast enough.

''Gahhhh!'' his screamed echoed as Ruki slashed his face with her long and sharp wolf like nails, blood streaming down his cheek like miniature rivers of red water.

Ruki smirked to herself as she liked how the Sitri pawn was now squirming around and screaming in pain at her very feet. However her smile was replaced by an annoyed frown as she checked the hand she previously used. ''Ouch, your face sure is hard, I think I might have chipped a nail.''

''Saji-senpai!'' While the enemy was all but fine about what was happening, Ruruko went in a state of panic as she saw how much pain her fellow pawn was going through, storming her way through to help him.

Her actions caused the wolf-tanuki hybrid to smile viciously. ''Sorry, but you don't have the time to worry about others.'' She once again mixed within the group of clones and all started circling around Ruruko, five on the ground while the other five floated in the air above her, forming a dome style barricade around the female pawn.

Ruruko gritted her teeth and raised her guard preparing for her next move, no doubt she was going to attack her the same way she did with Saji, so the most she could do was brace herself for the strike and see if she was lucky enough to counter attack after realizing which is the real one.

That was a plan that had its merit.

If only Ruki didn't realize what she was aiming for, that is.

To Ruruko's confusion the clones didn't attack, instead they all raised their staffs and pointed them at her. From their tips, spheres of fire the size medicine balls quickly manifested, causing all color to drain from the pawn's face.

She panicked, while she knew very well that only one of them was real, the question that was making her breathing go hectic was which one was it?!

She didn't know where to run towards, for all her luck she could be running right into the real one. This mental torment was like nectar to Ruki, the woman failing to resist the urge to just break into maniacal laughter. ''Guess which is the real one! Come on its just one out of ten! No big deal!''

Ruruko's mind just didn't know what to do anymore, what was real and what was fake. She couldn't find a solution, and time run out.

Boom!

The balls exploded on the moment of impact with the twin tailed pawn, embers dancing around her now burning body as Ruki took a deep breath in, a satisfied smile etching on her face. ''Oh, burnt flesh smells so yummy.''

* * *

Tsubaki Shinra was speechless.

Her mouth dropped the moment she saw Priscilla's true form as the realization of what she truly was hit her like a hammer.

While Priscilla enjoyed being looked upon in general, she however didn't like how Tsubaki was staring at her, the way her eyes were filled with horror and disbelief was actually getting on her nerves. ''I take it you're not enjoying what you're seeing?''

Her knuckles turned white as they gripped the shaft of her weapon, her voice coming out as a mere whisper. ''Your master… did this to you?''

She didn't see the reason to even ask that, but she was feeling rather chatty today so she indulged her. ''Indeed, in my case the body of a Scylla is rather frail, not meant for physical combat outside of a water environment, but after giving me genes of different shell monsters my strikes can now break steel.''

It disturbed her… the indifference in her voice. Was she truly unaware of what her master had done to her, or was it sheer ignorance to the truth?

In either case she couldn't keep herself from snapping desperately at her. ''Do you even know what he did to you?!''

She was Sona Sitri's Queen, as such she had to be someone worthy of being her right hand. Therefore she always tried to study as much about the supernatural and all related subjects be it magic, history, etiquette, or simple trivia. Doing so gave her a lot of knowledge that was useful in her new life as a devil, but also had her memorize a lot of information that she honestly didn't think she would need.

… Or that was what she thought up until now.

Seeing with her own two eyes what Segrif Zepar did to the members of his peerage made her remember an article she read, one featuring a father turning his own daughter into a half-chimera creature, the new creature ripping him apart like a paper crane minutes after it was created. Shivers went down her spine when she read it, and it was as she read the explanations provided by field experts at the end that she understood what turning a person into a chimera could do.

And such a person was now right in front of her very own eyes.

''Creating chimeras from actual rational people is forbidden! The minds and bodies of the people who go through it slowly deteriorate and lose all sight of what's right and wrong!'' The Sitri queen snapped at her opponent.

Chimeras by their own are feral creatures, something that shouldn't have existed by natural means, an insult to Mother Nature itself. While one may be tamed and forced to obey with proper methods like shock collars or binding spells. No one can raise a chimera and expect it to be docile or willingly listen to orders without incentive.

Many tried to prove this statement wrong and create a chimera that could be tamed naturally. The common theory they relied on was the idea of implementing the chimera process on sentient beings, like humans and other similar intelligent races.

However despite numerous attempts, no such thing was ever realized.

Not even the Zepar house that specialized in the creation of chimeras could achieve it, they who knew more about chimeras than anyone else in all the underworld. The process was so dangerous that they themselves were the ones that requested the ban on research for chimaerification, for they were well aware that it can't be done, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Anyone turned into a chimera hybrid will slowly deteriorate, both physically and mentally. Only savage beasts remaining from what were once people with a future ahead of them.

That was the harsh and cold truth.

Yet, that didn't seem to bother Priscilla judging by her indifferent look.

''So that makes us a little crazy?'' the Scylla woman asked slowly as her neck tilted to the side, eyes gaping as her smile reached her ears. ''Who would've thought?''

Tsubaki's eyes widen as Priscilla started slithering her way towards her, two of her tentacles raising and preparing to strike. She defended herself with the shaft of her weapon and tried to keep her ground, however that was proving difficult. The strength behind her strikes was great, pushing her back, for her strength was much greater than what she was used to from sparring with Tsubasa.

A long tongue came out of Priscilla's mouth, wiggling in front of her as she got closer to Tsubaki. ''That means we can just make you bleed and cry without any complaints, we are insane after all.''

Tsubaki gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the disturbing visage, twisting her weapon and breaking the stance, but she didn't get chance to catch her breath as Priscilla started another barrage of attacks using her limbs. One after another she would use her tentacles as blunt weapons to try to break Tsubaki, yet the Queen of Sona Sitri would not give in so easily. She may possess superior brute strengththan her but her speed on the other hand was a different story, as such Tsubaki used this to her advantage and was able to block and counter her attacks.

She ducked an incoming attacks and dashed forward, avoiding other tentacles as she was closing in on her opponent. The moment she knew her weapon could now reach her she began a series of thrusting strikes, aiming for her upper body. However her opponent wouldn't allow that and used her tentacles as armor, wrapping them around herself like a multi layer cocoon. While she did cause some bleeding, the wounds were shallow and only the tentacles were cut, the upper body was unscratched.

Priscilla unraveled her body by violently swinging her appendages like a whirlwind, Tsubaki barely having enough time to raise her weapon to defend. She was pushed back, but didn't take damage overall, however her hands felt a bit stunned from the shock of the impact.

As the Priscilla's limbs unfolded a shiver ran through Tsubaki's spine as she saw the euphoric look of joy on the woman's face. ''Exquisite.'' The modified Scylla enjoyed every bit of it, after all what's the fun in hunting prey that just sat there waiting to be caught.

Tsubaki had no idea what to say and just stared at her opponent.

''Oh, just drop that stare will you, I can go on without your pity. Sure, our master did cut us open and put us through a world of pain, but it was worth it, just look at what I can do now.'' She raised four of her tentacles and they shined in a purplish light, a white liquid beginning to seep out of the ends of the appendages, spreading over them in a thin coating, a feral smile forming on the woman's lips as the process was done. ''Let's get rid of that annoying stick, shall we?''

Perhaps she should step up her game a little.

Her body convulsed and her limbs began squirming around in all direction, panic filling the queen of Sona Sitri as she didn't know which one will attack. She steeled herself as the front tentacles rushed towards her, bending herself downwards and avoiding them, only to gasp as she saw with the corners of her eyes how they pulverized the ground they hit. The sense of dread in her reaching new heights as she estimated what could happen if she got hit.

She pulled herself back up and raised her weapon, blocking two incoming strikes, teeth gritting in pain from the impact she felt, but that wasn't all. Priscilla pulled all four of her tentacles back and began a series of rapid punches using them, Tsubaki lacking the time to dodge she was forced to take them straight on. She kept blocking each strike, but with each new impact between her weapon and her opponent's powerful attacks, her arms kept getting sorer and heavier with every blow.

She wouldn't last much longer, at this rate her arms will give up before she gets the chance to counter. Her only solace was that her opponent wasn't using all her tentacles to attack, from what she could observe she was using her free ones as a form of footing to increase the power behind each strike.

This couldn't go on, she had to break this stalemate and take back the initiative before it was too late.

Unfortunately for her it was already too late.

The sound of steel cracking invaded her ears in between the sound of exchanges from their clashing against one another, a gasp escaping Tsubaki's mouth as she realized the major miscalculation she had made. While she took into consideration how long her body would last, she didn't account for how long her weapon could hold on. Throughout the fight the constant stress the weapon experienced whittled away its durability making it more brittle and so the damage was done.

One more strike was all it took, her weapon shattering into many pieces before her very eyes, with disbelief filling them as she now was vulnerable. ''N-No!''

The remains of her weapon had yet to touch the ground, Priscilla's attacks never wavered not ever for a second and kept following. Four hammer like strikes landing on Tsubaki's shoulders and thighs. A painful hiss was heard as Sona's queen was sent stumbling around the ground like a rag doll.

When she finally stopped she tried to get up but was failing to find the power and do so, if it wasn't for the durability she received from her Queen piece her bones would have been turned to dust from those attacks. While they were still in one piece it didn't spare her from the probable bruising and deep pain she was feeling.

Her arms were trying so desperately to push herself up that she didn't notice that Priscilla was now right behind her, running one of her human hands through Tsubaki's long black hair, a rapturous smile present on her face, like a little girl enjoying the feeling of playing with the fur of a cat.

''Oh, such beautiful long hair.'' Priscilla remarked as she went about with her caressing. Even though it was a gentle and soft gesture that in fact felt pleasant, it was causing emotions of disgust and fear in Tsubaki that she couldn't find the words to describe. The only thing that she could do in response being punching Priscilla's hand to the side, her action making the purple haired woman's smile vanish and morph her lips into an uncaring line. ''Do you take proper care of it? Let's see if you have good roots.''

Tsubaki screamed as Priscilla yanked her up by the hair, beginning to spin her around, letting go of her after putting her little toy through about ten full circular spins around her. Tsubaki was sent crashing into a nearby wall, blood gushing out of her mouth as her body peeled itself down and landed on the ground. Priscilla didn't really keep an eye on her and instead went on to count the number of hairs that got ripped from her little improvised 'hammer throw'. ''Less than I expected, interesting, please tell me what conditioner you use?''

Tsubaki didn't say anything, her head slowly lifting up and glaring at her, glasses broken and gone, her mismatched eyes burning with a tranquil fury for her opponent.

''Not gonna share?'' Priscilla scoffed as she threw the hair in her hand aside. ''Such a party popper.''

The naginata user was really growing sick of her opponent's antics, frustration getting directed also to herself for letting Priscilla get the chance to beat on her like this. ''D-Dammit… if only I didn't waste time and let you transform...''

Hearing this at first Priscilla just tilted her head in confusion to whatever could her enemy be referring to, it was only after she remembered about her current appearance that she understood, and a chuckle began escaping her purplish lips as she spoke up. ''A bit of food for thought, we didn't actually power up, we just got rid of our disguises, we were strong like this from the start.'' The smile spread to her ears, pearly sharp teeth beaming at her together with her slit pupils. ''Us transforming was just the icing on the cake, a mere way of showing that you aren't dealing with the average devils. In other words, you kids were fucked from the beginning.''

The look of disbelief and despair that slowly morphed on Tsubaki's beautiful bloodied face was an image that was sending shivers down the Scylla's back.

She was really enjoying herself right now.

* * *

Fury.

Anger.

Wrath.

Those were just a few of the words I could use to describe the emotional state that I was going through, and yet they weren't strong enough to measure up to the rage that was rampaging through me.

The fact that I was forced to sit back and do nothing while the others were getting beaten up savagely before my own eyes was something that I didn't know how much more I could honestly take. If it was just a matter of the enemy following orders perhaps I would feel less frustrated, but they were enjoying every bit of the torture they were inflicting on my teammates. Those sadistic laughs, those deranged smiles, and all of them making me want to just jump in and kick the sick amusement out of them.

The irony of what everyone had been telling me up until now finally hit me, because I rushed in to save Momo and Reya without properly thinking things through I have to pay by watching the others suffer. I don't regret what I've done, I would do it a thousand times over again, however now that I look back if I would have just used my brain a second faster than I reacted I could have reinforced my hands to catch the arrows instead of using them to block them. That was my mistake, one that I was currently paying the price for.

My teeth clenched together as my eyes kept shifting from battle to battle, it was all a damn joke to the Zepar group. Our peerage stood no chance against the enemy as they are now, judging by how they react and fight its obvious they have more experience in combat, but to top it all off they have different abilities which makes the match ups even worse for my teammates.

While Saji and Tsubaki-senpai normally would have a slight advantage due to their sacred gears, they were useless on their current opponents. Saji's Absorption line may be a powerful counter against individual targets, however the fact that his opponent was using illusions to hide was making his weapon useless. The same for Tsubaki-senpai, while I didn't get to structural grasp her Mirror Alice from what I could tell she can only use it to absorb long range attacks.

The Sitri peerage had the drive that much I could tell by how they kept getting back up again and again even though they must have realized that the battle can't be won. However there is a limit to what you can achieve by drive alone, feelings by themselves can't make up entirely for experience and ability.

This was just a game to my enemies… A game my friends and I were on the verge of losing if nothing changed.

I had to figure something out, and fast.

''Momo, Reya isn't there a faster way to heal my hands?''

My eyes drifted left and right catching the looks of the bishops, while Reya was apparently contemplating, Momo's face exploded in a shade of beet red. ''W-Well there is a way, but it's a bit… complicated.''

This made my eyes narrow at her, so there was a way, while the fact that she hasn't mentioned it up until now was kind of irritating me, considering the situation we are facing I didn't have the time and luxury of being snarky. ''Can you do it or not?''

''I-It's not about being able to do or not, it's just… well…'' her stuttering was raising questions in my mind regarding the prospects of whatever she thought of, but I didn't care if she had to put me through a world of pain, if it can heal me up faster and put me back in the game I would endure it.

I couldn't help but raise my voice at the white haired bishop. ''Look if you can speed up the process in any way just do it, I don't care about any aftereffects, all I care for is helping the others before it's too late.''

At this the faux white haired girl gulped nervously. ''B-But I, I never-''

''Let it go Momo, at this point the most we can do is just get it over with.'' Reya cut her friend off with a defeated sigh.

The lips of her fellow bishop quiver slightly, blue eyes casted down in shame. ''F-Fine.''

That was good, now I can focus back at the battle and search for any possible counter strategies against the enemy.

Huh… while some sensation did slightly return to my hands, they were still numb, and yet I suddenly felt a wave of heat over both of them. I looked back at my hands and my eyes opened wide at what they were seeing, my voice almost cracking. ''W-W-What the hell are you girls doing?!''

''What does it look like to you?! We're healing you!'' Momo snapped back at me in frustration, voice strained and embarrassed.

''With your boobs?!'' I asked as my mind was trying to process the inconceivable situation that I was finding myself in. Both girls opened the middle buttons of their shirts and shoved my hands in those openings, my palms currently resting between some rather… soft breasts.

While it didn't really help, the way Momo's face was fuming and her eyes spinning in her head, at least it showed I wasn't the only one finding this whole situation unpleasant. ''Shut up! You're not making this any easier!''

My eyes drifted to my opposite site as Reya was pinching my arm, she on the other hand seemed to be handling this much better then Momo, her face only blushing brightly. ''E-Ehem, Shirou as you might or may not be aware off devil healing consist of the healer transferring their demonic energy into the injured and accelerate their natural healing process, correct?''

I moved my head away, trying to avoid staring at the place where my palms were placed, nodding mechanically to her question which I already knew the answer. ''Y-Yeah?''

''However, what many people don't know is that direct contact between the healer and the injured increases the rate of healing since its energy is transferred directly, as such the more physical contact there is between them the more energy is transferred and the speed of the healing is increased.''

Oh… well when she puts it like that it does make a little sense. ''A-As informative is that may be it doesn't make this any less awkward and embarrassing.''

''You think you have it rough! We're the ones doing the embarrassing stuff here!'' Momo snapped at me, making me shift a little from my position, causing in return a moan to escape from the bishop's mouth. ''Also stop squirming around! Y-Your hand is rubbing some… sensitive 'parts'.''

My eyes gaped as I understood just what sensitive 'parts' she was referring to...

Don't think about it… just think about weapons… or cooking… or anything else for the matter just don't think about what my hands may be rubbing against no matter how soft and pliable they may feel.

 _ **''I must say you look quite pathetic like this.''**_ The smug voice of the current attendant in the back of my head suddenly spoke up.

While I actually appreciated the fact that he made me lose focus on where my hands were, it also reminded me about what was going on in front of me. _''Archer I really don't have time for any of your remarks right now!''_

His chuckle wasn't a pleasant thing to hear, while there was amusement in it, I could feel a certain level of pity from it. _**''Is that so, well it's not like you have anything better to do while your recovering.''**_

That remark was like rubbing salt on an open wound, my teeth gritting violently against each other. _''If there was anything else I could do I would've had done so, but I can't even project with my hands like this!''_

There was a slight pause in our conversation, a sense of heaviness building up with each second he just kept quiet. The tone shifted as I heard him sight tiredly. **_''Why?''_**

I blinked a couple of times at his question. _''What do you mean by why?''_

I couldn't see him, but I could feel it, his disappointment in me. _**''Since when do you need your hands for Projection?''**_

For a moment I wanted to talk back and ask just what he was on about, but something clicked in my head, a sense of realization towards what I have been ignoring all this time. There only word I could muster was a single flat. _''… What?''_

 _ **''Projection isn't linked to ones hands, but rather to one's body, one can project an object within a certain range of his body without the help of his hands. The part of utilizing the hands to project is more for concentrating where you want the object to be projected, while is helpful it's not mandatory, if you can concentrate hard enough and visualize where you want it to appear it will happen.''**_

My eyes stopped blinking, burning from the dryness that was forming, yet the burn I was feeling didn't compare to the simmering anger that was slowly building in me. _''… Why didn't you tell me this?''_

 ** _''I thought you already knew.''_ ** He scoffed casually.

This was great news! If I'm not limited to using my hands when projecting this opens the door for new combat possibilities… yet as wonderful as that was, it didn't solve my current predicament. _''… It still doesn't change anything. If I can't use my hands what's the point of projecting weapons if I can't hold them.''_

 _ **''Indeed… in this state it doesn't matter what you project, you won't be able to use them.''** _ He remarked this without a care in the world, an action which further cemented my belief that Archer really is impartial about everything happening. **_''Well, not you yourself that is.''_**

The last statement really got my attention. ' _'You know something that I don't.''_

 ** _''Many things in fact, but that's beside the point. I can give you one solid piece of advice, if you really want to help your friends you need to do it in a different way than simply fighting for them.''_ ** He stated with a small snarl. _**''Your eyes can see things differently than normal people, so visualize yourself helping them in a way that you've never done before.''**_

There was a brief and heavy pause before he went on again.

 _ **''You are like a sword are you not?''**_ he asked me with a very serious tone, sounding more like a statement than a question. _**''Whether a sword is used for salvation or destruction it's all up to the one that 'wields' it.''**_

Him and his cryptic messages again… to help them fight in way that I never did before. I have no clue to what he could be referring to with what he said.

The only way I can see to help them without fighting directly would be-

No… he couldn't be suggesting that I…

In concept the idea is brilliant, so simple and effective that it's ridiculous that I haven't thought about it up until now… but it goes against how I operate.

There was one thing that I can't stand more than anything and that is the feeling of being a burden to others.

It was as I saw the enemy go about with their attacks that my face cringed… What choice did I have but to rely on others?

My teeth clenched against each other for being forced to do this, eyes closing and mind starting to search for the answer that I'm seeking. I tried picturing that image so many times during training, not even once was I able to do it, or even once was I able to tap into that power.

 **''Include!''**

It was all irrelevant, whether I could do it before or not didn't matter at all, what truly mattered was doing it now. I can't tell how many I will be able to pull out if it works, but even a single one can change the tides of the battle if it is the right one.

A deep breath escaped my lips as I tried to emulate every single feeling that I felt at that moment, my mind becoming sharp and cold, just like a like sword.

There was one thing that I ignored, that I didn't want to accept.

A sword is a weapon, yes. Whether they are used to protect or to kill, it all comes to those who wielded them.

The truth that I have been avoiding… even if I myself can't wield any weapon… it doesn't mean that I can't pass them on to others to use.

It showed itself to me.

 _The hill of swords._

I reached out for it.

 _Search start._

I need something for Tsubasa, protection against her opponents blazing hide, not just that, but something that would make her punches strong enough to get past his steel like scales.

 _Iron gloves that tame lighting itself._

 _Searching..._

I need something for Ruruko, something that can help her deal with those illusions and the opponent's magical attacks.

 _Scarlet spear that pierces through all mysteries._

 _Searching..._

I need something for Tsubaki-senpai, a naginata, no, a pole weapon or something of similar design, durable enough not break against those strong blows, yet light enough for her to make rapid movements, and possessing enough sharpness to slice through her armor like shell.

 _Pinnacle of Chinese craftsmanship, the culmination of halberds._

 _Matches found._

Everything was set and ready for deployment, hands were unnecessary, all I required was a sharp mind and good visualization of where I want them to manifest. It was time, I flipped the switch.

The barrel was fired.

 **''Trace On!''**

A loud scream was heard the moment the aria left my mouth, my circuits flared together with a surge of immense pain. What I was trying to do was basically reaching for the handle of a weapon hidden within a rose bush, the further I tried to push and grab it the more my hand would get cut and bleed. In this case the more I tried to tap into the cards power and project the desired weapons the more the pain intensified.

''Shirou!''

Body began heating up and convulsing, my insides feeling like someone just shoved an exposed electric cable down my throat and turned the power on. My vision was shifting between clear and cloudy, sense of consciousness slowly fading away.

''Shirou stop!''

Reya and Momo's concern was appreciated, but right now I didn't have the luxury of worrying about myself. ''N-No... I need to do this!''

I can tell… the noble phantasms that I'm trying to project are way stronger that Kanshou and Bakuya, the level of feedback and prana consumption didn't even begin to compare. The fact that what I was trying to project were things that weren't even swords to begin with just added more gas on the fire.

This burn was something else, I thought that I was getting better since the strain of projecting my usual twin blades was lessening as I kept training by repeating projecting them, but it would seem that when I try projecting something new for the first time it won't be so easy.

Was that going to stop me?

Was this pain really my limit?

No way in hell!

The pain I was in was all irrelevant for pain is something ephemeral, difficult to endure as it may be, at some point sooner or later it will pass and will become just a distant memory.

However… the pain of knowing I had the means to make a difference and backed up from it is something that I don't want to experience.

My body can go through all the pain in the world, as long as in that world there aren't others that are suffering I will endure it.

 **''I am…''** My eyes snapped open, I couldn't do much, but there was only one thing that only I can do. **''The bone of my sword!''**

* * *

''Shirou!' I heard Momo call me out, yet I didn't react.

''Shirou! Snap out of it Shirou!'' Reya did the same and I still didn't react.

A sudden impulse ran through my body, I blinked hard, confusion overshadowing my pain as I stared at what was in front of me. Just a moment ago there was just the empty floor, now I gazed upon the captivating sight of three different noble phantasms.

While I should have been relieved that I managed to pull off a simultaneous projection of three different noble phantasms, there was just something wrong here.

… Did I just black out?

''Shirou!'' Momo shouted at me once more, only this time she decided to add a hard slap in the mix, said slap was against my face.

While it did sting a lot, it did help me put some order in my mind and compose myself. A dry hiss escaped my mouth as I stared speaking. ''I-I'm fine… I just blacked out there for a bit.''

The two girls looked at each other, frustration slowly becoming visible on Momo's features. ''A bit he says… Shirou your vitals stopped for almost ten seconds!''

I was out cold for ten seconds?

Weird… it felt like only one to me…

That was some concerning news to hear, I have to be careful when I try this sort of stunt during a fight. If I wasn't on the sidelines with the team's bishops by my side the enemy could have very well ended me in those ten seconds of unconsciousness.

However, all of those concerns are for a later time. ''L-Look that's not important right now, we need to give them these weapons, it's the only way they can make up for the difference in strength.''

Momo opened her mouth to raise her complaint but no words came out, her gaze shifting towards the newly projected weapons, eyes widening as her body shivered for a moment. No doubt that the power she felt from the weapons was unlike anything she had felt before. She returned her attention towards me and nodded vigorously. ''I understand.''

I also nodded as I began formulating a strategy for a counter attack. As simple as it would be to just throw each of them the weapons they needed, I doubt that the enemy would just sit by and let us give them support. As such I had to think of a good diversion. ''Good… now, is there any way for me to communicate with the others while they are fighting?''

Reya nodded slightly as she began explaining. ''There is, it's a communication spell that we both know.''

So both she and Momo knew it, good, that will come in handy. ''I want you to keep a communication line between me and everyone, I will rely instructions to them.''

I then shifted my focus at Momo, gesturing to the projected weapons with my eyes. ''Take those and wait for my signal, I will tell you what to pass to each them.''

''Yes!''

''Reya, I have a different job for you.''

''What are you planning Shirou?''

I didn't answer immediately, my eyes solely focusing on the opposing team scanning their every move, pattern, and overall behavior. Various scenarios forming in my mind as I muttered. ''… Seeing if I have the makings of a King.''

* * *

They were losing hope.

It wasn't hard to see how the servants of Sona Sitri were beginning to lose the hope of winning their battles. Not that anyone could blame them, the opposing force had an array of powerful abilities coupled with extensive combat experience at their disposal. As a group that up until now only lightly sparred among themselves and went on a few stray devil hunting assignments together they couldn't hope to compare. All of them were completely out of their league as situation kept on deteriorating, the challenge they faced unlike anything they had experienced before. Sure, stray devils could be difficult to handle depending on the circumstances the most obvious example being their recent encounter with Kurosaiga Ichirou, but in all other cases the stray devils they hunted were just insane monsters. There was hardly ever a need for any special strategy besides hitting it really hard and the most basic teamwork. The Sitri peerage was a rookie peerage full of fresh reincarnated devils and thus most of its members were never really pushed as Sona preferred to slowly break them in and guide them in their new position and responsibilities.

Unfortunately this came back to bite them was what Tsubaki concluded. Their opponents, while their mental state was questionable, were still very much self-aware. The scorching hand to hand fighting style of Sasha, the illusion wielding Ruki who specialized in hidden attacks, and the relentless assaults from Priscilla's steel like tentacles. All of those were things they couldn't face individually with their current level of power and skill.

It would have been surprising for them not to lose hope as the fight went on and they were slowly beaten back by their enemies

However, they didn't give up for they knew what was at stake.

Whether they could win or not didn't matter in their minds, they had only one objective, to save their master from the hands of Segrif Zepar.

They didn't pray for a miracle, they were devils after all.

Yet despite that, a miracle decided to step in.

''[Guys can you hear me?!]''

''Shirou?'' Tsubaki blinked confused as her eyes drifted to her side, noticing the spell circle over her right ear, easily deducing that Reya or Momo must have set up a communication link between them, but couldn't figure out what Shirou wanted.

''[Listen carefully, in five seconds whatever you do close your eyes!]''

''Huh?'' She blinked a couple of times, while she wasn't sure what the auburn haired member of their team was planning, telling her to close her eyes in the middle of a fight was pure insanity. Her body was already a mess as it was, one more of Priscilla's direct hits like before and she would be out of commission. She had to at the very least know what he would do before she took any risks. ''What are you-''

''[Do it!]'' The voice of the young Emiya snapped a tone at her she was honestly unused to hearing with the usually kind and calm Shirou. She wanted to know what he had in mind, but her instincts were telling her to trust the man who saved her, as such she did as he said.

It was the same with the others currently fighting, they all closed their eyes and hoped that Shirou really had a plan.

All pieces were set and everything was in place, it was time to start turn the tables. ''[Now Reya!]''

The braided bishop was running in the middle of the room, close enough for the enemies to see and hear her. Shirou instructed her with what she had to do, it was a risky gamble in her opinion but at the moment it was the best chance they had to really step up and change the battle in their favor. She might have her doubts about it, but she will do her best despite of the odds against them.

''Hey Zepar house! Over here!'' Reya shouted as she stopped in her tracks, hands joined together as a large magic circle manifested in front of them. Her action got the attention of the enemy, all three of them raising their guards up as they prepared themselves for an incoming attack, their eyes large and focused on her circle.

A small smile formed on the bishop's lips, just as Shirou planned. ''Flash!''

As per her command the magic circle shined, but no magical attack manifested, for it wasn't meant for creating an attack, but rather its purpose was to create a powerful light. One that could temporary blind one dumb enough to stare directly at it.

''What the deuce?!'' Priscilla screamed as her hands desperately reached for her eyes, her eyesight in complete disarray from the light.

''[Hit them with everything you've got!]'' Shirou commanded strongly, hoping this part of the plan would work properly, even if Reya's improvised flash grenade spell could blind the enemy, it will only last for a few brief moments. Those moments were crucial for the next part, she may not be able to seriously injure any of them, but anything will do in the current situation.

''Ha!'' Reya roared as she charged her demonic energy unleashing large spheres of magic attacks one after the other, her target shifting between each enemy. The first wave of attacks hit them dead on, exploding on contact, but they weren't strong enough to do any significant damage. After the enemy realized that they were under enemy fire they started guarding and reacting to them. While they couldn't see they were still able to hear and feel the energy from her attacks, thus began dodging and blocking them.

The braided bishop gritted her teeth, increasing the intensity and speed of her assault to their limits. While she knew it won't be enough to stop them, if she could tip the scales even by a fraction in her group's favor she would push forward. Still she also knew that this wasn't the main objective of Shirou's plan; this was merely a distraction, for the crucial part of it all was now approaching.

As Reya kept firing her spells her fellow bishop caught up to her, weapons in her arms and ready to be distributed. ''[Tsubaki the halberd, Ruruko the spear, and Tsubasa the gauntlets!]''

Momo nodded and made her way to each of her comrades dropping the weapons as per Shirou's instruction, retreating next to Reya when she was done, just in time to catch her friend from collapsing. While the braided bishop did have quite a decent amount of demonic energy even by a normal bishop's standard, keeping a constant flow of attacks like she previously did was quite draining on her.

Their part was done, now it was all up to the others.

As the two bishops retreated back their comrades simply stared looking at what they managed to pull off. Tsubaki for one was taken aback by the plan Shirou just executed, however even more than that her focus was drawn to the weapon that Momo stabbed into the ground in front of her. As a devil she was now far more perceptive than when she was human towards presences and energies that were supernatural in nature, because of this the moment the halberd was placed in her vicinity she felt hundreds of shivers running down her back from the sheer power exuding from it. While the weapon wasn't releasing any magical aura or energy itself, she could feel the immense power and immeasurable potential it held within it. ''S-Shirou this i-is?''

Shirou would have honesty preferred to take his time and explain everything in detail to all of them, but unfortunately he was on running on a tight schedule.

''[Listen up all of you! There's little time before the enemy recovers so hear me out!]'' He took a moment and took a deep breath, knowing that what he will say was something he honestly didn't want to do. ''[You will fight them using those weapons that I projected.]''

* * *

Tsubasa and Tomoe were perplexed, Shirou suddenly telling them to close their eyes in the middle of battle and the very next moment when they opened them back up Momo was right next to them and passed the blue haired rook a pair of metallic gauntlets. They were fairly simple in design, a pair gloves covered in small plates of dark iron over soft leather padding. The moment she held them she almost stumbled in surprise by how heavy they were, but also gasped in awe as she felt the powerful presence within them, she could tell by touch alone that these gauntlets were made from the strongest metal she had ever came across. Curiously she wondered how her much her punching power would increase if she used them.

She brushed that thought aside as she felt the communication spell fluctuate. ''[Tsubasa, put those on! If you wear them you will not only gain an incredible elemental protection but also your physical strength will be augmented. Don't be afraid to get close to him, as long as you wear them you can take on his heat.]''

The blue haired rook took a moment and looked with half lidded eyes at the gauntlets, she wasn't really one for big pompous words so she sometimes needed an simpler explanation, hence to why she had to ask. ''So does that mean I can pummel lizard breath with these on?''

She could hear Shirou sighing on the other side of the line. ''[As much as you like.]''

A feral smile formed on her face as she equipped the gauntlets. ''Bitching!''

Now that the rook was ready, Shirou focused on the team's knight. Even though the gauntlets may give Tsubasa the edge she needed, it didn't instantly secure her victory, she would need as much help as she could get. ''Tomoe, listen carefully, Tsubasa may now be able to bypass the enemies heat, but that guy is still a hard opponent to deal with. She needs your support, you have to use the Senkyouka.''

The knight's mouth dried out when she heard this, her sword wielding arm trembling as she slowly glanced at it. The weapon that once belonged to Kurosaiga Ichirou was silent, no better than a regular katana, something she knew wasn't a good sign. A weapon of Juuchi Yosamu's caliber would cause her devil side to react, weakened as it currently was due to previously shattering, there still should be a reaction. Yet she never once felt it. It could mean two things, either the sword had truly lost all its power, or she simply was too weak to truly use it. Her master already told her that the underworld blacksmiths which reforged it confirmed that its power was still there, so it was just as she feared.

She was too weak.

This was the source of the usually bubbly girl's low sense of self-confidence. Her teammate and fellow swordsman was now asking her to call forth one of the swords strongest techniques. Shirou's request felt like she was just asked to hold the heavens herself. Words had a hard time forming in her mouth. ''B-But Shi-chan, that's Kurosaiga's move, I don't even know how he did it in the first place… let alone use it.''

Shirou was silent at first, he couldn't hold it against the girl that she was down and insecure about her ability. As the current stand-in leader and as a friend he had to rekindle her drive. ''[Tomoe, I know this is hard given the current circumstances, but don't give up. Regarding Senkyouka, don't worry about that, I will tell you how to do it.]''

His words, while they were reassuring didn't help her that much; her hand still trembled as she thought of executing the Senkyouka and the possibility of it failing. She wasn't worried that it will hurt her, but she feared that if she did one misstep Tsubasa or someone else she cares about might get hurt. She couldn't find the will to fight.

''[Tomoe! Think about Sona! Imagine what that creep Segrif might be doing to her at this very moment!]'' The knights eyes opened and dilated, air getting caught in her throat, disgust at herself forming in the depths of her stomach. How could she forget? This wasn't about her, it was about saving her master. Everyone was risking their lives to do that, and here she was acting like this.

She gritted her teeth, hand tightening around her weapon as the trembling subsided, she had a job to do, and she wasn't going to lose any more time feeling sorry for herself. She could do that all she wanted when this was over. ''So… how do I do it?''

Shirou took a moment and thought of a simple way to explain the technique, thinking back on how he structural grasped the weapon during his last bout with Kurosaiga he knew the swords capabilities and the techniques its former owner develop for it. ''[Here's how it goes, Senkyouka in essence is like a raging flame, the curse power within the sword is like an spark, and you need to ignite that spark into that raging flame.]''

The knight nodded slowly, but still didn't quite get the answer she wanted. ''Ok… but how?''

''[Demonic energy.]'' Shioru stated seriously. ''[Channel as much demonic energy as you can muster and transfer it in the blade of the sword. Once the aura of the Senkyouka is built swing the blade towards your target and release it.]''

''Will it really work?'' Tomoe asked as she prepared her stance.

''[Normally it would take careful training to learn how to control the overall output of the attack, but that right now is something that we can work around.]''

The Sitri knight took a moment and tried to understand what he meant by that. Realization hitting her as memories flashed of the way Kurosaiga executed this technique, how he could freely control the output of how much energy he could put in each wave of attacks he made. She wouldn't be able to do that, all she will have is one single shot with her full current power. How strong that will be however, she wasn't sure.

She took a deep breath as she took this little bit of info in, her eyes drifting to the side as Tsubasa started walking towards Sasha, the lizardman in contrast was busy dusting himself off, the attacks that Reya launched barely scratched him.

The brown eyes of the Sitri knight narrowed carefully at her friend and her opponent. As things stand now she will have to wait for the right timing to unleash the Senkyouka.

Sasha grumbled as he narrowed his reptile eyes at Tsubasa, a sneer present on his scaly features. He certainly wasn't expecting the surprise attack from the enemy bishop, but it didn't matter to him whatsoever since his rook trait made him tank them without breaking a sweat. ''Man that was a real pain to deal with, nice gloves you got there by the way, got any in my size?''

Tsubasa snarled at the man's easy going attitude, a feral smirk forming on her lips. ''No, I don't, but I do have a fist with your name on it.''

Sasha only scoffed in response. ''Be real girly, even with those things on nothing will change.''

''You never know until I try.'' Tsubasa replied as she raised her guard.

The confident attitude of Tsubasa was quite an amusing sight for Sasha, the lizardman bursting into mad laughter. ''Ha, tell you what, I'll cut you some slack and give you one more free shot.''

This took the bluennete by surprise, eyes blinking in confusion. ''You sure about that big guy?''

Sasha dropped his guard and left himself wide open, inviting his opponent to attack him. ''Yeah, yeah, come on, I don't have all day you know, I have to go and trim my scales.''

Tsubasa was skeptical about all of this, her opponent may just as well be tricking her, and simply inviting her to attack only to launch counter at the last moment. It was risky, but if her opponent was as full of himself as she believed him to be then this was an honest move on his part. Sasha's offer was just another way to prove his superiority over Tsubasa.

This was a golden opportunity for her, as such she wouldn't hold back.

The rook dashed forward, her arm pulled backwards for a large swing. If her opponent would react now was the time as she left herself open with such a large swing. A rather reckless move, but it was one with benefits, as she was sacrificing all of her defense to launch a more powerful offence.

Sasha just stood still, her opponents gauntlet covered fist was quickly approaching his face, but he didn't bother to move. With his rook trait combined with the durability of his lizardman body and other augmentations he received from his master, he had no doubt that this attack will barely faze him.

He was proven wrong.

His eyes snapped open as he felt Tsubasa's punch bury deep within his cheek, sending him crashing in the nearby wall. He fell down and gasped in pain, hand reaching and checking his face. ''Gahh!'' The scales on it were shattered, his cheek bleeding profoundly with almost all of his teeth on that side were broken.

''Holy shit!'' Tsubasa said in awe with eyes the size of saucers, gaze shifting between her fist and the damage she caused to her opponent. Up until now no matter how hard she punched she didn't even manage to chip one of his scales, and here she just broke the guy's teeth. While she wasn't a sadist like a certain devilish upperclassmen at her school, she was feeling really good right now.

''H-How?'' Sasha on the other hand was in complete shock, spitting out a mouth full of blood and teeth as he glared at his opponent. It didn't make sense at all, if they truly had an magical item that could increase one's strength like this, why would they not use it from the start and instead wait until after they already got beaten up. It was completely illogical and didn't make any sense.

''Not telling you!'' Tsubasa roared as she charged forward, her battle drive gleaming in her eyes.

Sasha clicked his remaining teeth together and unleashed his salamander power, even if her physical strength skyrocketed it didn't mean she can take on his heat. From what he saw earlier his opponent didn't have any protection spells or magical resistance to it, so he will simply let her get close and burn herself out.

When Tsubasa entered Sasha's range his orange aura exploded, scorching heat surrounding him like a thin veil, the eyes of the Sitri rook widening as she knew what would happen. Her self-preservation instinct told her to back up before it was too late, the pain of the burns from earlier resurfacing in her mind. She wanted to back up, teeth gnashing as she was fighting her own fear, but she pushed forward, regardless of what she felt, for she was going to place her trust into Shirou and the gauntlets he gave her.

She shifted her weight, delivering an uppercut straight into Sasha's gut, her fist burying deep within it. Bile rushed out of his mouth, the force of the punch feeling like he just got hit by a runaway train not some skinny high school girl. However what truly affected him was the fact that Tsubasa was so close to him yet was unharmed, no blisters or burns over her skin not even a small sun burn. ''W-Why?! Why isn't my heat working?!''

Tsubasa was just as surprised as he was it wasn't that she didn't feel any of his heat, but it felt weaker compared to how it was before, like she just walked into a sauna. This new level of heat she felt was nothing she couldn't handle, her eyes glanced for a second at the gauntlets. A thin, almost unnoticeable yellowish glow was covering them, a grin formed on her features. She made a mental note to treat Shirou to something good to eat when they got out of this mess and looked back to her opponent. ''Heat aside, you suddenly seem weaker than before, maybe all those muscles you have are just for show? Do you even lift, bro?''

Whether Tsubasa was trying to get under Sasha's skin intentionally or not she certainly was successful, veins were bulging all over the lizardman's body, demonic energy danced violently around him as he decided to change tactics. If his heat was useless then there was no reason to bother keeping it up, and instead he focused all of his power into strengthening his body. ''That does it! No more fooling around!''

He swung his tail and made Tsubasa back up, raising his focus as he began slowly circling around Tsubasa like a beast stalking its prey. He delivered a front hook at her, an action which the blue haired rook reciprocated, the two fists clashing against each other, sparks flowing from the clash of steel gauntlets and steel like scales. The two rooks clenched their teeth as they both pushed forward for domination.

A battle cry from the lizardman broke their standstill, with a series of fast jabs quickly following, the battle frenzy slowly beginning to overtake rook of Segrif Zepar.

Each exchange sent jolts of pain through his body, a sensation that he grew unfamiliar with. He couldn't recall how long it was since his fists hurt like this, the last time he had to fight for real against someone that could pose a challenge one on one like this. It was frustrating that a little girl that couldn't stand up to him minutes ago was now on the same level as he was, he who had to butcher his body and experienced excruciating pain to obtain his current power. It was frustrating, incredibly so, and yet it was also making him feel excited.

Tsubasa on the other hand wasn't enjoying the battle nearly so much, while the gauntlets did provide her with the protection she needed, she still felt the heaviness of his strikes. With each attack that hit her armored arms, she could feel them slowly numbing, there might be little to no damage, but she still felt the backlash. She had to finish this quick.

She dodged a low kick and jumped back, crouching down as Sasha almost slapped her with his tail. When she saw his tail pull back and wiggle behind his back, a smile crept on her face. She just had an interesting idea.

Dashing forward she started throwing fast jabs at the lizardman, forcing him to stay on the defensive. As Sasha was pushed back he realized this wouldn't do, his arms won't last long guarding like this so he had to break her assault. With both arms busy with defense and both legs busy with holding his footing, Sasha was left with one option.

He brought his tail up and thrust it towards Tsubasa, an action which she was waiting for. The blue haired rook leaned to the side, letting the tail go past her; she then pushed herself back next to it and wrapped her arms around it, so the gauntlet covered parts gripping strongly around it. She then pulled him hard, making fall down on the ground, not wasting any time she stumped on his back with her foot, and pinning down.

''Ahh!'' Sasha screamed in pain as he felt like his tail was just put in an industrial vice. ''Let go you bitch!''

''No chance!'' she gritted her teeth as she tried to further tighten her grip and make her opponent submit.

''Then you can shove it up your ass!'' He roared as pulled his hand free and made it in a chop, bringing it down before Tsubasa could react.

Tsubasa stared in disbelief, blood spraying on her as her hands still gripped on the tail that Sasha just cut off, the person in question taking the opportunity to crawl away and regroup. ''Y-You cut it off…''

''I'm a lizardman dumbass, it will grow back in a couple of days.'' He commented as he engulfed the bleeding part of his back in his orange aura, a sizzling sound filling the room as he cauterized his wound with his heat, the pain of the process quite noticeable on Sasha's face. As she saw this Tsubasa's eyes drifted down to her hands, which were still holding on the dismembered limb, disgust forming on her face as she quickly threw the tail away. She couldn't really help it, the thing was still wiggling even though it was cut off.

Sasha for one didn't get bothered by her reaction, humans tend to overreact the first time they see a lizardman detach their tail anyway. Usually it involves more screaming and throwing up, sometimes both, so Tsubasa's reaction in his opinion was actually a new thing to him. However he brushed all of that aside as his eyes narrowed in confusion as Tsubasa suddenly stumbled, the girl grabbing on her left side and cringed in pain breathing heavy and strained. He didn't understand why the sudden reaction, however it all became clear as he remember how 'well' she fought before she got those gauntlets. ''I see… those gauntlets may make up for the different in strength and ability between us but your injuries are still there.''

A visible flinch could be noticed from Tsubasa, even though she tried her best to keep it together she was hitting her limits. It was just as he said, her earlier injuries were still there, and her fatigue was only growing as this fight went on. Even though she had the means to win, she wasn't sure if she will be able to last that long.

Sasha's smile reached all the way to his ears, revealing the bloodied and broken teeth on his left side. With that little revelation his mood became better, his vigor renewed as he immediately pounced towards her starting a new series of attacks.

Tomoe watched all of this and connected the dots in her mind, now she understood why Shirou insisted that she prepare herself to use the Senkyouka even though Tsubasa clearly had the means to fight Sasha. It all came down to the accumulated injuries and fatigue from the battle that piled up until now. Shirou knew despite getting the gauntlets that Tsubasa could only keep up fighting him for a limited amount of time, and the chances that Sasha would still be able to go on as Tsubasa's injuries fully took their toll were very high. As such, they needed a backup plan should that happen, one in the form of her utilizing the Senkyouka.

She understood now, and she had to make a difference.

''Here goes…'' Tomoe muttered as she brought the former sword of Kurosaiga in front of her, grasping it firmly. She closed her eyes and began calming her breath, slowly building up her demonic energy and directing it towards the sword, trying her best to emulate Kurosaiga as best as she could. As she opened her eyes she saw the thin cyan glow forming around it, but she wasn't satisfied with what she saw. While she was glad that it was working, it was a joke compared to what Kurosaiga was able to do. This wouldn't do, she had to channel more power into it. Her grip tightened as she increased the amount, the sword starting to shake as more and more demonic energy got transferred into it, merging with the cursed power held within.

 **''Senkyouka!''**

One chant, which was all it took for the beast to awaken.

Like a raging fire the swords aura flickered and exploded, swirling violently around the blade in a malicious harmony together with the screams of Tomoe. Was this wild unstable power really what Kurosaiga was able to control and use with such ease?

It felt like her arm was shoved inside a meat grinder that someone set on to max. No matter how much she tried to hold it together she couldn't stop the tears from pouring. She wanted to let go, it would be so easy so simple, just open her hands and let the sword drop, and the pain would vanish.

She wanted desperately to make it stop… but she refused to let go.

Pain… she knew that she wasn't the only one going through it. The pain filled screams when Shirou made those weapons, she heard them, the ones from Tsubasa each time she exchanged blows with Sasha, she heard those as well. Even now as the others were fighting she could hear them struggling yet fighting on.

Was the weight she felt on her shoulders what those who walk the path of the sword have to endure? Was this what wielding a powerful sword entailed? Was this threshold the thing that separated swordsmen like her from those like Kurosaiga and Shirou?

If she wasn't in so much pain she would have laughed cynically at this. She was aware she wasn't on their level, but to think that gap between them was so large it was just ridiculous.

She will not let this stand.

It wasn't just about defeating the enemy and saving her master anymore, her pride as a swordsman was also at stake and she won't allow herself to fall. She was well aware that her overall ability and skill wasn't remarkable, but now she had the means of making a difference and the potential of reaching new heights.

It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but right here at this moment she vowed that she will master the sword that is Juuchi Yosamu and will surpass Kurosaiga Ichirou!

Until that day comes, she will make do with what she can do.

Arm groggily pulled back, pain within it making her feel like it would snap at slightest misstep, and her aim focused on the preoccupied enemy. Tsubasa was barely keeping herself straight, sluggish and gasping for air, she had to strike now before her friend was taken down. However she had a problem, how could she signal her friend to back away without letting her enemy know what she planned?

''[Tsubasa! Retreat now!]'' The sudden command of Shirou's voice via the communication spell made her eyes go wide, a sly smile forming on her lips. Even now after everything he had already done he was still supporting them, classic Shirou.

''Go! **Senkyouka!** ''

A loud battle cry sounded as she brought her sword down, the wave of aura being released all at once. Tsubasa jumped backwards the very second she heard the sound of the attack being unleashed, taking a quick look at it as she made her way out of its range. She could spot some major differences between the Senkyouka used by Kurosaiga and the one used by Tomoe. The former stray devil's was much more stable and precise, with a skull motif at the front of the wave blast. Tomoe's on the other hand looked far too unstable, the attack looking like it had a rough time keeping itself in a straight line, small fragments of the aura breaking apart and flying in random directions, the front of the wave lacked the skull motif or any distinctive characteristic, and making it overall look like a wave of violent cyan aura.

Sasha stared confused to why his opponent decided to suddenly make so much distance between them. Serpentine eyes widened in shock as he recalled one crucial detail he had forgotten since his second fight with the Sitri rook started. It wasn't her alone initially that fought him, there was another girl with her one that wielded a rather familiar looking sword.

His neck turned mechanically towards the new power source he felt, eyes gazing upon the incoming assault. He wanted to lament himself for being so ignorant, just because only one of his opponents got a magical item, it didn't mean that the other one was out of the game. In fact if he focused on only one of them, then the others might get the time they needed to pull a fast one on him.

Such was the current case.

No time for him to dodge, the only thing he could do was pour all of his power into his defense and tank the attack head on. Arms protecting his vital areas in a cross guard, he then pulled his right leg back to use as support, a primal roar being released as he clashed head on against the attack.

Small ripples of aura started flying as the two forces clashes against each other. The ground beneath Sasha's feet shattered under the weight of the attack, but the proud lizardman didn't falter. He stood his ground and refused give in regardless of how much his arms screamed in pain.

For a moment he felt something connect in his mind as he felt the aura of the sword. He knew it from somewhere, and now that he thought about it the sword the enemy knight used seemed awfully familiar but he just ignored it since he had other pressing matters at the time.

It was at that moment that recalled the word that she shouted when she released her attack, it was Senkyouka. There was only one person he knew that used that attack, and his name was Kurosaiga Ichirou.

The man who fought and defeated him along with the others at the same time.

Scales slowly got peeled away and turned to dust, the exposed skin quickly suffering a similar fate. Gashes opened within his flesh, the flowing blood sent flying everywhere from the force of the wave.

''I-I w-won't fall!'' he grit his remaining teeth, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, veins in his arms became swollen as the eyes dilated, and yet they were filled with burning determination. ''I won't!''

With one final scream he mustered all the strength that he could find and pushed his arms upward, the attack getting pushed back. Even though all the scales on his hands have been shredded, he still pushed forward, and successfully redirecting the wave towards ceiling.

His arms fell limp to the side as he watched the attack go upwards and break its way through many layers of floor, surprisingly reaching all the way to the surface. The light poured down from the opening as the rays of light illuminated Sasha's broken and bloodied body.

A tired smile formed on his lips, he certainly felt that attack. When his team had their encounter with Kurosaiga Ichirou he had the opportunity to see what the stray devil was capable of doing. While Tomoe's version was a far cry from what Kurosaiga was able to do, the girl had some potential in his book, give her a few years and she might be able to catch up to him. Killing weaklings was no fun at all, as such he will certainly enjoy taking that sword and stabbing her in the gut over and over again. ''G-Got any more in you?''

Tomoe was silent and on her knees as she focused in recovering her breath.

One attack… that was all she was produce with her current strength, just one single swing of the Senkyouka. Kurosaiga was able to keep spamming that attack over and over again without even stopping for a second to catch his breath, yet here she was completely exhausted and out of demonic energy from just one swing. Her head slowly leaned down towards her arm, her expression unreadable as her hair now covered her eyes.

Sasha also watched this and looked carefully at her arm, a sick satisfaction filling him as he saw the state in which her arm was in. From her elbow down all her skin was completely bruised and covered in small lashes over it, twitching and trembling uncontrollably, yet still refusing to let go of her sword. But even so she won't be able to use that arm for a while. Her head then turned back to her opponent, a smile spreading over her face, one that Sasha found strangely familiar. ''… I don't, but she does.''

The lizardman's eyes gaped as he understood what she was referring to. He instantly turned around and saw Tsubasa rush towards him. This wouldn't do, his arms were useless and his tail was cut off, but that won't stop him, he refused to get defeated by a pair of brats. With a savage roar he opened his mouth and rushed forward, thinking how Tsubasa's throat would be a nice snack.

The blue haired rook clicked her tongue, it was oblivious to her that her opponent has given up on strategy or any thinking and embraced acting on sheer instinct. From here on it will be like fighting a cornered animal. She had to end this in one punch.

His fangs were closing in, but she didn't try to move aside. The mouth shut strongly, the taste of blood wandering in the lizardman's tongue, but it was his blood. Sasha's eyes gaped and slowly drifted down, the air got stuck in his neck as he saw Tsubasa sitting in a split position with her fist pulled back.

One could see the lizardman instantly pale regardless of his dark scale, as he understood what Tsubasa was about to punch.

He had to dodge! He to dodge! He to dodge! He to dodge! He to-

'Crack!'

His eyes rolled in the back in his head, and feel limp on the floor like a marionette that had its strings cut, white foam coming out of his mouth as he passed out.

''Well… something definitely cracked down there.'' Tsubasa commented as she got back up, feeling rather good with herself even though she had to pull a cheap shot.

''That was brutal Tsubasa.'' Tomoe sighed as she slowly made her way to her comrade, barely keeping herself from screaming in pain from how her arm felt. While she knew that Sasha was the enemy what Tsubasa just did to him was too much.

Tsubasa turned around and was about to reply, but her words got stuck in her mouth. Perhaps she was still dizzy from the beating she got earlier, but she could swear there was something wrong with Tomoe. For the briefest of moments, her eyes seemed to have flashed into an intense orange. The blue haired rook took off one of the gloves and rubbed her eyes, when she then checked Tomoe again, her eyes were normal, maybe she was just imagining things.

''Better him than us.'' She scoffed uninterested, he should be grateful she only punched him, if she wanted him to really suffer she would have just kicked him there.

Still… Tsubasa did not understand the gravity of what she just did. She didn't just punch a man in the crotch.

No.

She punched a man in the crotch while wearing a pair of noble phantasm gauntlets.

Dwarven forged armaments, wielded by the great thunder God of the Aesir.

Only Sasha knows the pain he went through in that moment.

* * *

Ruruko and Saji were truly surprised by what just happened. If it weren't for Reya suddenly blinding their opponent, Saji wouldn't have had time to recover, go help Ruruko out, and regroup. The blonde pawn was at ease when he saw the girls state, while the attack Ruki used on her appeared quite powerful, Ruruko's Queen promotion made her resilient enough to take it head on and get out with only light burns.

Saji used the few seconds he had available to try and get his head back in place, ripping a piece of his shirt and whipping the blood from his eyes. He at least was glad that his fur ball of an opponent missed his eyes when she slashed his face. All of this made him feel as weak as he really was, Ruruko took that explosion head on and is still alive and kicking. In contrast he lost count of how many bruises and gashes he got from this fight and honestly felt that if he took any more hits he won't be able to endure it.

As much as he wanted to sit and lament at his own weakness, he focused at what Shirou began transmitting them.

''[Ruruko, listen carefully, attack with that spear, it will render the illusion useless, focus all your power into your speed and go for the staff of the woman, if you strike the real one all of the illusions will fade.]''

Both pawns stared at the red spear that Momo dropped by them when they regrouped. It was a scarlet in color and reached about two meters in length, foreign letters present just below the blade part.

Ruruko put her hand around its shaft and instantly pulled it back on reflex, the pure power she felt the moment of contact was quite scary. When Kurosaiga jammed the hilt of his sword into her and dislocated her shoulder she felt the power of the cursed blade, but the spear sent jolts of power into her that made the power of Juuchi Yosamu seem like a joke. Perhaps it was the reluctance to wield such power, or maybe she felt insecure in her skills, but she couldn't help and address it someway. ''B-But I never used a spear before.''

Shirou couldn't really blame her, Tsubasa was handed a weapon that complimented her battle style and Tsubaki received the type of weapon she had experience in using. Unlike the others she on the other hand had to use a spear for the very first time, perhaps it was even the first time she used a weapon in her life since he noticed that the twin tailed pawn relied on physical combat in all training sessions. True as that may be, now was not the time for such excuses. ''[It doesn't matter, what you need to focus is simply make the blade part make contact with her. I was able to analyze her staff and all of her battle style is centered around her using illusions with that staff, take that away from her and she will be a sitting duck.]''

Now that she learned about this, she understood the importance of her role, she may feel unsure about using the spear but she doesn't have a choice. ''Y-Yes!''

''[Saji! I have a plan to figure out which the real one is so you will have to listen very carefully to it! It will only work for a limited amount of time so you get only one shot. When Ruruko will disable the illusions, you will use sacred gear and restrain her, don't try to fight her, avoid giving her any more chances to recover and immobilize her.]''

''Gotcha!'' The blond pawn nodded with a smirk. ''So what's the plan?''

Shirou carefully explained to both of them how they should proceed. While the spear would be able to help them out, if the enemy realized what its abilities were she would very likely change to a different strategy that may render the spear useless. As such they had to end this in one shot and for that to happen they had to use the spear on the real Ruki.

If it was Shirou himself using it he could tap into the weapons history and replicate the battle style of its former owner, making him able to dispatch Ruki without much effort. However Ruruko didn't have his ability, so in her hands the spear could prove useless depending on the situation.

Both Saji and Ruruko were a bit skeptical about the plan Shirou gave them, hardly even a plan to begin with, more like a reckless gamble compared to the carefully crafted strategies that their king usually devised. It was clearly different from what they were used to, and weren't even sure if such an idea with so many possible variables would even work, but it wasn't like they had anything better at hand. The fact that Sona wasn't there to guide them was clearly noticeable.

Saji stared ahead as he noticed that Ruki and her clones already seemingly recovered from the flash spell Reya used earlier, his teeth clicking in annoyance as he understood that it was now or never. He gestured to Ruruko to stand by and prepare, the fellow pawn nodding silently. With slow steps he began walking towards Ruki, the latter looking quite irritated by Reya's little stunt, that was good he told himself, if Shirou's plan were to work they needed to make her as distracted as possible. ''Ok… the plan sounds like it may work, but how do we get all the clones to focus on me?''

Shirou was silent and thought about it for a second, curiously wondering what Archer would do in a situation like this. ''[Try setting her off, say something that you think will make her so furious that she will ignore Ruruko and focus strictly on you.]''

''Let's see…'' Saji contemplated as he slowly got closer to his enemy, eyes widening as he just remembered a certain myth about Tanuki's. ''Hey Tanuki girl!''

All copies of Ruki narrowed their eyes at Saji, clearly still hurting from the flash spell by how they were throbbing. A smirk formed on Saji's face as he began ranting. ''There's something that has been bugging me when it comes to your kind, is the whole Tanuki balls myth a legit thing? And if so, does it only apply to men, or women as well?''

…

Dead silence.

Everyone present who heard this couldn't help but stop whatever they were doing and stare at Saji. Even Shirou who was the one that technically encouraged him to say that was appalled. ''[… Saji, I asked you to make her mad, not be a jerk.]''

The blonde pawn was confused by everyone's reaction, did it really matter what he said as long as it did the job? Besides it's not like he said something that bad. ''Oh come one, how bad can it-''

Ruki's demonic aura flared, her animal features became even more predominant, claws and fangs growing longer and sharper, sheer blood lust filling her eyes. ''YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'll RIP YOUR DICK OFF!''

To his defense, if he knew what he said would sound racist he would have come up with a different way to make his opponent become livid. ''… I guess that answers my question.''

Well… it was no use taking it back now so he concentrated back on the plan. The moment he saw the clones rush towards him, he smashed his gauntlet in the ground, cracking the surface around him it. Not wasting any time he picked pieces of the cracked floor with both hands until they were full, quickly sending a glance towards Ruruko that was on standby.

''This better work or I might just lose my junk.'' Saji mumbled to himself as he pulled his fists up, waiting for the clones to enter the necessary range.

Three meters… Two meters... One meter.

''[Now!]'' With Shirou's shout as a signal he pulled his arms to his chest and threw all of the pebble like pieces towards the clones.

With how livid Ruki was feeling she didn't even bother to acknowledge the pieces of floor as a danger and try to dodge them, why would she in the first place?

What could some small pebbles even do to her?

She barely felt when one of the pieces hit her, heck she felt mosquito bites with more sting than that.

That was her mistake.

She let herself get hit.

Exactly like Shirou wanted.

When the rubbles were thrown by Saji, he threw them towards all copies of her. Because the clones were just illusions without an actual mass the rubbles would simply pass through them. The only exception to this would be if any pieces hit the original.

Ruruko was waiting patiently, she knew she had only one shot and she couldn't miss the right timing. When all pebbles were thrown all of them shall pass through the clones, with the exception of the pebble that hit the third clone on the left that recoiled on contact.

She now knew which the real one was.

Her hand tightened around the spear as she leaned down, directing all of her power into her legs. With the force of a bullet she blasted forward, the ground from where she stood shattering.

Ruki took notice of this and didn't react at first as she doubted that Ruruko knew which one was her real self and simply deduced that she was charging recklessly like she did earlier. No need for her to pay too much attention.

A sense of dread filled the former Tanuki's stomach as her enemy rushed straight to her, the source of it being the red spear she was now carrying. Unlike devils reincarnated from humans her senses were far sharper due to her supernatural inheritance, said senses were now screaming to her not get hit by that spear.

She didn't have a doubt about winning against such green horns like her current enemies, however if there was one thing she learned over the years it was to trust her instincts. Just as Ruruko was a couple of feet in front of her she commanded two of her clones to step in and cover her. She wouldn't risk it a direct confrontation, better hide herself by mixing back in with the group of illusions.

If Ruruko was asked how she felt the moment she saw the clones regroup she would have lied if she said she didn't panic, her heart was beating like a drum considering what if the plan failed. She grit her teeth in frustration casting aside such thoughts. If she didn't act now all of the effort that Shirou put into all of this would have been for nothing. Failure was not an option, she won't be the one to drag this team down even if she was the weakest of the lot.

Mustering all the demonic energy she could find within, she poured it all into her speed, a short burst of explosive speed sent her dashing forward. She put the spear forward, crimson edge aimed at the enemy like an arrow as it sought its target.

Its tip made contact with the enemy, not even a second later the clone exploded in a cloud of brown embers. The Sitri pawn was quite shocked by this turn of events, true Shirou did tell her that the spear can render the illusions useless but it was an entirely different matter seeing it unfold in front of her.

This show of lights was a rather interesting sight to behold, but she focused entirely on her mission. She couldn't stop from the force of her speed, but she could improvise her way around it. Using her leg as a pivot she twirled around on it and stabbed another one of the clones. Normally such a stunt would be almost impossible under such conditions, however Ruruko had something many people lacked, and those were years of dance practice under her belt which greatly helped her with difficult movements such as these. The show of light started once again as crimson spear made contact with the clone, illuminating the horrified face of Ruki as she saw her precious illusions vanish into the air.

She wasn't wrong! She didn't know where her shrimp of an opponent suddenly found herself a spear that could cancel her illusions and she honestly didn't care, what she did know was that she had to get rid of it fast before things get even worse.

All trickery was dropped as she pointed her staff forward, focusing all of her power into one blazing fire ball, this time she wasn't going easy like earlier and will burn her alive. With a loud hiss the ball was blasted towards Ruruko who was just a meter or so from reaching her.

She had to dodge, that was the only thing that she could think off as she saw the fireball quickly approaching, if that thing hit her it will be the end of her that much she was certain of… but if she did that everything will be ruined. From what she saw from her opponents fighting style the moment she dodges she will most certainly try to hide herself again while trying to take them out with surprise attacks.

Time was flowing very slowly at that moment for her as everything that just happened flashed through her mind. Perhaps she was being reckless, perhaps she wanted to prove herself, but it all led to one decision.

Go forward no matter what.

Just like she did with the clones she jabbed the spear forward towards Ruki, not caring that she will have to go through the giant fireball and burning herself in process.

However that never happened.

The Sitri pawn estimated from the heat she felt from the fireball that the spear would get heated up the very moment it made contact with it, but it didn't happen, it was like the spear was completely ignoring the very existence of the spell itself.

There were no words to describe what Ruki felt when she saw the end of the spear erupt from the back of her attack. She couldn't think at that crucial moment and just reacted, her self-preservation drive kicked in as she shielded herself with her staff.

The two weapons made contact, but it was hardly what one could call a proper clash. The red spear stabbed its way through her staff like it was made of papier-mâché, piercing the Zepar bishop in the chest.

Even though she wanted to scream in pain all her attention was pointed at her staff, its aura seemingly imploded and scattered the moment the spear pierced it, but that wasn't all. At the very same time all of her clones got erased in the same manner, even her fireball vanished just as it was about to reach her enemy's hands. It also didn't help her that the damn spear was about two meters long and helped her opponent cover the distance between them.

She knew the spear would be a threat, but she didn't think things would turn out like this.

The properties of the spear did allow the user to bypass certain magical properties but it didn't erase them entirely. Should it be put against magical attacks or defensive barriers it shall pass through them like they never even existed. However should the spear meet with a source that acted as the fuel of a magical ability or enchantment, it shall render them completely useless as it severed the connection between spell and power source.

The tanuki girl gnashed her teeth, this had to be some kind of joke, there was no way some brats could humiliate her like this. Disregarding the bleeding wound that was throbbing in her chest she raised her hands and charged her demonic energy to the maximum. She would make sure that her opponent felt pain one hundred times what she had felt just now.

With a loud shriek she released her attack, a sadistic glee spreading across her face on the prospects of what injuries an attack of such magnitude may cause to her opponent.

…

Her excitement however was short lived and was quickly replaced by confusion, specifically confusion to why no attack manifested. She didn't understand, with the amount of demonic energy she poured in it she should have an attack the size of monster truck in front of her.

''What the hell did you do?!'' Ruki demanded in shock, she never saw or heard of something like this happening, it was like her power were being blocked by something.

Ruruko was quite confused as well but it didn't matter to her since all of this was in her favor, she also couldn't help but smile when she saw who was standing right behind Ruki.

A pit formed in Zepar bishop's stomach as she felt something cold slither around her body. Her head turned slowly back and her eyes gaped as she saw Saji currently using his sacred gear on her, slowly contracting and immobilizing her.

Panic took her over and she tried to desperately to break free, not only did she get herself stabbed but now she would get restrained if she didn't do something. She struggled and tried to pull the line away, but the more she tried to break free the more the line would contract around her.

It was difficult for her, but it didn't come close to the effort Saji was putting in keeping her at bay, having learned only recently how his sacred gear works he was still coming to terms regarding his control over it. The moment he lost his concentration everything will be over.

It was a good thing though Shirou told them what to do when they managed to immobilize her.

''Ruruko!'' The blonde pawn shouted to his junior, gesturing with his heads towards Ruki.

''Yes!'' Ruruko nodded strongly, pulling out the spear out of her opponent's chest and quickly stepped behind her, jamming the blunt end as hard as she could in the back of the illusionist's neck.

A strained gasp escaped her lips as her eyes rolled in the back of her head, passing out where she stood.

After she waited for about five seconds to confirm if her enemy was truly knocked out, Ruruko let out a relieved breath, glancing over to her upperclassmen and raising an eyebrow to why he wasn't letting go of her.

Saji on his side was feeling reluctant to stop using his sacred gear. Perhaps he was scared she could just wake up at any time and start using her illusions again. In any case he was pondering of what he should do, should he keep her like this? Should he let her go and focus on other stuff?

He wasn't sure…

''To bad I can't detach this thing…'' he muttered to himself as he stared at his sacred gear for ten long seconds, his eyes widening as he just realized something. ''Say Vritra, do you think you can-''

Slick

Before he could even finish his sentence the mouth of the lizard like sacred gear close and cut the line. Saji could only stare dumbfounded at what just happened.

'' **[You're welcome.]** '' The former dragon king replied casually to his partner, yet Saji couldn't help but detect a certain amount of smugness in his voice.

As much as he wanted to comment about this he just shut up and proceeded to tie Ruki. With how much his face throbbed from the lacerations on it he just didn't have the mental disposition to deal with bullshit at the moment.

The moment the enemy was properly immobilized Ruruko breathed at ease and used the spear as a pole to support herself.

As she kept inhaling and exhaling she directed all her attention to the weapon in her hands. She already knew that Shirou was somehow able to create swords and the twin ones he always used were indeed an impressive set, but she wasn't expecting him to create a weapon outside of the sword area. She did enjoy reading about sacred gears and there were quite a few that caught her eye, and by the way Shirou could seemingly create swords out of thin air she had suspected that he possessed either a copy of Sword Birth or its holy counterpart Blade Blacksmith. However as she saw him create different types of weapons, she began believing him when he said that he didn't possess a sacred gear. From what she was aware of creation type sacred gears usually specialize in a single form, she hadn't heard of one that allowed the user to create any type of weapon they desire.

She really was starting to suspect that there was much more to Shirou's powers than meets the eye if he was able to produce weapons like this.

Little did Ruruko know that what she previously wielded was more than just a simple weapon, but a legacy of the first knight of Fianna.

* * *

They say that each person's perspective differs, the way that they perceive certain ideas or objects sometimes clashing due to their inability to understand how someone else views them in a completely different manner from them. Something that may appear dangerous or menacing to one may appear like a work of art to another.

''[Tsubaki-senpai.]''

Such was the current case with Shinra Tsubaki, the pole arm in her hand was obviously quite an intimidating piece of weaponry, even her opponent that was dominating the fight up until this point was feeling unsettled simply by looking at it. In the eyes of her enemy the weapon she was holding appeared dangerous, but in her eyes there was no such case, not at all, to her this weapon was simply mesmerizing.

''[Tsubaki-senpai.]''

The important factors such as its weight, form, sharpness, and feeling at touch were so unrealistically perfect no matter how thoroughly she searched for a design flaw, even the length that easily toppled her by two heads wasn't an issue. She usually disliked the idea of ornamenting a weapon or giving it an interesting design just to make it stand out and be unique, the idea was stupid and useless in her eyes, adding more flaws to a weapon then it should have, and yet she couldn't find that problem with this weapon. She wasn't a master in pole arms, but she had her fair share of experience with them and could tell a good one from a bad one. The weapon currently in her possession is probably the pole arm closest to perfection she will ever encounter in her lifetime.

She was so engrossed in admiring it that she was failing to register Shirou calling out to her.

''[Tsubaki-senpai!]''

It was only after the red-haired magus raised his voice that the Sitri Queen finally snapped out of her own contemplation.

''Y-Yes, my apologies Shirou, you were saying?'' she muttered awkwardly to her underclassmen, a tinge of pink forming in her cheeks, feeling quite embarrassed to get caught out of focus from her musings like this.

''[As I was saying… unlike what the others got, that weapon doesn't possess any special abilities you can use but the pure combat potential it possesses is something that can't be underestimated. In the hands of a rookie it's just a sharp weapon, but in the ones of someone with skill it could even slay even Gods, what it needs is your skill!]''

This information made her mouth dry, a weapon with the potential to slay Gods he said… if she didn't know Shirou she would have written it off as simple bolstering or sheer ignorance but she knew that he wouldn't make such a claim unless it was true. As such she began feeling on the edge, for there were few weapons recorded to have accomplished the feat of slaying a God class being, even the Longinus type sacred gears who are known as weapons that can slay the Gods have yet to achieve this, or at least from what she knew.

For Shirou to give her such a weapon, even if it's out of necessity, it certainly was making her doubt herself. Her achievements up until this point were small and insignificant indeed. While she had confidence in her naginata skills, will they be enough for her to handle a weapon of such caliber?

Her words seemed to tangle even as she started to speak. ''B-But, I don't think that I-''

To her luck Shirou wasn't going to have any of it. ''[No! I trust you, if there's anyone that can use that weapon, that's you! So show me what you can do!]''

A pin drop could be hear from how silent Tsubaki was, her lips quivering as she was trying to find her words. It was easy for him to say that, he wasn't the one that up until now had been useless. She was supposed to be Sona's Queen leading them whenever she was absent; it was downright frustrating to how bad things had gone up to this point, and that she had to rely on Shirou to fix things. As much as she trusted him and believed him to have more potential than any of them she was still supposed to act as an senpai to him and teach him the ways until he could hold his own. Seeing him act like he was the one with experience was a big blow to her ego. It wasn't that she believed herself better than the others on the team, but due to her position she should be the one to help and guide the others, not the other way around.

She bit her lower lip and threw her ego aside, as defeated as she felt on the inside she had a job to do. If Shirou went out of his way and put so much trust into her she had no other choice than oblige. ''…Understood.''

''[The only advice I can give you is don't be afraid to get close to her, I know you believe she has the advantage but trust me, she won't know what hit her… Good luck.]''

As the line got cut off, a small smile formed on her lips. ''… Thank you.''

She tightened her grip on the halberd and lifted it to her side, slowly walking towards Priscilla, the latter keeping a close eye on her.

Unlike Sasha and Ruki who let their arrogance and confidence get the better of them, she possessed a more cautious nature and didn't rush straight to her opponent.

The two women slowly walked and circled each other, never letting the other out of their eye sight. This made the Sitri Queen curious to what she was supposed to do, attacking directly would be reckless as her enemy was expecting her, but if what Shirou said was true she had to do it.

Using the speed trait of her piece she dashed forward like a bullet thrusting the halberd forward. Her enemy instantly reacted, immediately positioning four of her tentacles one in front of the other ready to block where she aimed.

With the genes from the various shell monsters that her master implanted in her, Priscilla was confident that she can block the strike. The reason she positioned multiple tentacles the way she did was for counter attack purposes, the moment her first tentacle blocks her weapon she will use the other three strike her.

She carefully waited for the moment of the impact to start her assault. When she felt the cold steel pierce her flesh that was the signal she waited for and began to raise her tentacles to crush Tsubaki's bones.

However they didn't move, to her confusion the tentacles she positioned before the first one somehow wouldn't move. Her mind was so focused on that aspect that she failed to understand what truly happened.

It was only when she saw the edge of the halberd erupt from the forth tentacle wall that she realized what had happened. As the blood dripped from the weapons tip, mere centimeters away from reaching her face she began feeling the deep pain of her wounds.

Her plan would have normally worked, under the conditions that the halberd Tsubaki wielded was a regular weapon. Even if it was magically enchanted or forged there was no way for it to pierce through all four tentacles, considering that each tentacle individually once coated in shell was as hard as block of reinforced concrete.

It was a shame for her that what Shirou projected and passed on to Tsubaki was a weapon that was known as the Sky Piercer. Its sharpness was something that if underestimated would be fatal, something that Priscilla had to learn firsthand, for the weapon having pierced through her tentacles was just like a hot knife through butter. Her only solace was that the weapon didn't manage to pierce all the way through, while it was indeed a long weapon it wasn't long enough to reach any vital areas.

The Zepar rook screamed in pain as she struggled to pull her tentacles out, but the side blades on the halberds shaft was making things worse, the more she struggled the more it shredded the insides of her tentacles.

On the other side Tsubaki was keeping her stance, gripping firmly on the halberd with all her might and made sure her opponent didn't run anywhere. She was barely able to keep her mouth from dropping when she saw how easily the weapon pierced through her opponent's appendages.

Shirou was absolutely right, by how the weapon was able to cut through her flesh if she manages to get close enough and deliver one good blow it will all be over.

Priscilla couldn't take the pain anymore, she raised her free tentacles and aimed for Tsubaki, if she was going to keep hold of her and not let go, that could also work in her favour.

Tsubaki noticed this right when she started her new assault, if those attacks reached her she would be in trouble. She twisted the weapon strongly and pulled to the side, eviscerating the Scylla's flesh, a sharp scream elected from her, but it didn't stop her. The new assault kept coming but with a fast spin the Sitri queen blocked the attacks with the shaft of the halberd, her body getting pushed back a few steps, but nothing more.

From a quick glance around the shaft she didn't spot even a single scratch on it, even though it received multiple hits at once. This was indeed a reassuring thing to see, while she knew that such a weapon couldn't even begin to be compared to the random naginata she used, it was much more comforting to see the results with her own eyes.

A smile formed on her lips as both she and Priscila rushed towards each other prepared to clash once again, but they froze half way as something caught both of their attention. The sound of an explosion stopped both women in their tracks, both turning their heads to the source just in time to see Tomoe perform the Senkyouka in the distance.

The shock wave of the attack made her hair flow backwards violently as it clashed against the lizardman. While the attack itself didn't finish the job and was in the end redirected in the ceiling, it certainly was able to deal quite the substantial amount of damage to its target.

Tsubaki didn't know how Tomoe was able to perform that attack out of nowhere, but it was without a doubt an impressive feat, a feeling of pride danced through her chest as she witnessed her junior progress as such.

''Tell me…'' Priscilla slowly spoke, an icy tone present in her voice. ''Why does that little girl have Kurosaiga Ichirou's sword?''

The black-haired queen was taken aback but this sudden question, but maintained a cool posture. ''…I take it you knew him?''

Her question was like a slap over the face for the Scylla woman, sharp teeth clenching dangerously against each other. ''Knew him she says… our group tracked him down months ago and tried to capture him, the bastard got away after killing some of our members. Now answer my question! Why does that brat have the mad dogs sword?''

Tsubaki pondered for a second considering how she should answer her, while she wasn't one that encouraged bragging, perhaps a little intimidation tactic might just help her in her current situation. ''Because we defeated him.''

As Tsubaki expected this caused a visible reaction in her opponent, the eyes of the Zepar rook widening and dilating in disbelief as she took in her words. ''You're lying… there's no way a couple of green horns like your group could have taken down a rabid beast like him!''

''…You aren't wrong, all of us fought together and weren't able to defeat him. He certainly was a foe beyond our current capabilities.'' Tsubaki admitted, a bit ashamed of it, but feeling pride for someone else. ''However that wasn't the case for Shirou.''

''Shirou?'' Priscilla tilted her head.

''The boy that got his arms crippled by your bow user, he was the one that fought Kurosaiga by himself and managed against all odds to defeat him.''

Once again the denial was evident on her features, her eyes staring in the distance at the red-haired boy that was sitting on the sidelines and glaring daggers at her. ''That brat defeated the mad dog?!''

''Quite, if he would've been able to use his hands, these battles would have been over by now.'' Tsubaki answered with a smile, truly if Shirou was in good condition things would have been clearly different.

Priscilla opened her mouth to retort but went silent as she realized something. Their group's archer wasn't some amateur or weakling by any means, in fact her arrows were incredibly fast, and she remembered clearly that the boy wasn't facing them when her ally launched an surprise attack on the Sitri group. So he actually managed to react even without looking at the arrows. While he did get his hands ruined he actually had the ability to detect the attack and reaction speed to block them.

Information was slowly pilling up, her mouth dried as she understood where those crazy weapons came from. If any of the bishops could have done it they wouldn't have waited so long to do it, so her only logical answer was that this Shirou was able to create weapons of incredible strength, probably via some sacred gear, but it took so long because of his injuries. Even if she wasn't accurate if the boy was relatively close to what she deduced, there was only one course of action she had to take. ''Then he must be eliminated!''

The only reason Priscilla and her comrades were even alive today was more out of luck than anything else. When their group tracked down Kurosaiga Ichirou their encounter led to a bloodbath as the stray devil was able to fight them all by himself. The only reason things didn't escalate beyond control was the fact that reinforcements were close by and despite how feral and battle loving Kurosaiga's was, even he wasn't stupid to face a whole squadron of stray devil hunters all by himself.

The very information that Shirou was able to put the mad dog down was something Priscilla couldn't ignore. He was a threat that took priority above all else.

She rushed forward like a feral beast out for blood completely disregarding her opponent and ran in Shirou's direction. It was only due to a glint of light she caught with the corner of her eye that she stopped and jumped to side. Somehow barely managing to dodge a slash strike from Tsubaki, yet it did cost her one of her tentacles in the process.

As much pain as she was going from losing a member, it was taking second place on her priorities list, the venomous glare she was receiving from the Sitri queen was actually scaring her.

''No.'' Tsubaki muttered coldly at as she began a series of thrusting strikes.

A spike of demonic energy was rising from Priscilla as her main body was narrowly dodging the strikes, a grotesque display of impossible twisting and contorting movements on her part, and only possible due to her body lacking any actual bones to limit her movements.

Tsubaki tried to think of how land a solid hit as she continued her assault, shifting from thrust to swipe attack in hopes of confusing her enemy. Much to her frustration Priscilla wasn't falling for it and her demonic energy kept increasing.

With a flash of purple light her demonic energy exploded and surrounded her like wild fire. The white substance from earlier erupted once again from all over her body, coating her in thick shell like armor, plates of white overlaying each other like a scale mail.

This sudden change didn't stop Tsubaki as she went on ahead with her attacks, but the thing she noticed which put her on the edge was that Priscilla didn't seem scared anymore.

When her swipe strike was about to reach her body she blocked it with a now armored tentacle, her eyes widening as the swipe didn't go through. Priscilla retorted with series of tentacles jabs which Tsubaki only just nearly managed to parry.

The black-haired queen backed up and regrouped herself, analyzing the situation. It seemed her opponent still had a couple of tricks left up on her sleeves, just great. Her eyes scanned the tentacle that blocked her last attack and was intrigued by what she saw. The armor was covered deeply in cracks, and she was slowly filling them back with the white substance, repairing it.

So that's how it was.

Since her attacks would cut through her flesh so easily she concentrated all of her power into creating armor than can take those blows. That as it may be, its still not strong enough to completely block it, and has to repair itself.

At her current situation there wasn't much that she could do against that armor of hers, strategy wise she didn't have many options. The only exception being giving up on strategy and fight relentlessly, or as Tsubasa would say, hit it till it falls.

Tsubaki channeled her demonic energy, sky blue flickers of aura forming around her body. Since it came down to it she will do the same as her opponent and channel everything she has in her physical abilities.

With an explosive dash she clashed against her opponent, sparks flying from the clash of steel and bone like armor. Both girls glared dangerously at the other and started their retort, armored tentacles being jabbed after the other, blocked and stabbed by the pinnacle of halberds.

Blood was gushing from the cracks of her armor each time Tsubaki countered and attacked, but that wasn't the only blood getting spilled on the floor, for the hands of the Sitri queen were also bleeding violently. The weapon she held may be able to handle the enemy's attacks, but her body was a different story, the backlash of each attack was slowly ruining her hands. At the current rate they were fairing it won't be long before they gave up on her.

Priscilla's sharp teeth gritted as she started feeling the burn as she assessed her situation, she wouldn't last long, she wasn't used to donning her shell armor and constantly repairing it. Her demonic energy was rather low to begin with and once it ran out she won't be able to repair it anymore. Things were very bad for her, she had to finish this in one attack before she completely runs out of energy. As much as she hated to admit her opponent did have some skill and if she were to try and rely on physical combat to end her things might just go wrong.

She had enough of this shit.

Swallowing the pain she smashed her heavily injured tentacles into Tsubaki, while the girl was able to block it the force of the attack sent her flying upward. A vicious smile then formed on Priscilla's bloodied face, it was her victory.

Her demonic energy spiked violently, swirling and collecting in front of her mouth, growling larger by the second. ''If my strikes won't kill you, then I will just disintegrate you!''

A beam of concentrated demonic power was unleashed towards Tsubaki, the ground under Priscilla's feet getting shattered from the sheer force she was emitting.

Tsubaki wasn't expecting her opponent to use a long range attack at such a time, but she had to give credit to her enemy, with her current position she didn't have anywhere to run or dodge. Truly it was a dire situation for the Sitri queen, and yet she couldn't help the small smirk that formed on her lips.

After all, she did possess one of the best last second counter type sacred gears. ''Mirror Alice!''

The mirror manifested in front of her, absorbing the blast right before it could hit her. Priscilla was confused by what was going, her mind in such disarray that by the time she noticed what had happened it was already too late, the mirror having shattered and her attack being returned at her with twice the amount of power.

Her mind zoned out for a brief moment before her face contorted in pure fear.

She tried desperately to dodge but she didn't make it, her own attack striking her.

The explosion was so great that it make the whole room shake violently, the others on the different zones in the room forced to shield themselves from the shockwave of the blast.

Tsubaki landed on the ground and panted heavily, Mirror Alice didn't usually put much of a strain on her, but her body already went through a lot during this battle and using her sacred only added more to it.

Her mismatched eyes narrowed tiredly at the clearing smoke, catching the silhouette of her enemy still standing tall, but it all just for show. As the smoke fully cleared she saw the full extent of Priscilla's wounds, all of her shell armor has been destroyed and her body was bleeding all over.

As injured as her opponent was, she herself wasn't unscratched. The injuries she accumulated from Priscilla till this point had been piling up and her palms were in a dire state. They were bleeding fast and there was barely any skin left on them, she probably had only one or two swings left if worst comes to worst.

Priscilla on the other hand was in a world of pain, her body felt like it was being stabbed with hundreds of knives at the same time, and it hurt her to even breathe. To be humiliated like this by a bitch that couldn't even stand up to her when this fight began made her absolutely livid.

 _Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her._

This dark chant kept repeating over and over again in her head as she slowly turned to face her hated foe. Her eyes widened, a blur passed by her and she felt something cold pass through her body, when that coldness finished, she stopped feeling any pain from below her middle section.

Dread filled her to the brim as her trembling eyes looked down, a part of her already knew what had just transpired but she was far too scared to admit it and was hoping that perhaps there was a small chance that it didn't happen.

All words died in her throat as she witnessed what was below her middle section… or it was more precise to say as she witnessed what wasn't there.

Her body crashed on the floor, eyes in shock at the dismembered lower section that was still standing rigidly a few meters away from her, Tsubaki sitting in a crouch position right next to it with her weapon stretched to the side, her blood still dripping from its sharp end.

''Fuck…''

The Sitri queen stabbed the halberd in the ground and used it to support herself, her body barely able to keep itself straight. For a single moment she channel all of her demonic energy into her speed, creating a temporary explosion of momentum, using her wings as glides to reach her enemy before she could recover from the previous attack.

She honestly couldn't believe it worked, after all this wasn't something she did before, but rather something she saw before and managed to replicate to some extent. It was similar to the burst like movement that Shirou showcased during his fight with Kurosaiga.

How Shirou was able to do it at that time she never got to ask him, but she was a very observant person and could get a basic idea of how it works from seeing it once. Whatever the case may be, she was barely keeping herself together, her wounds finally starting to catch up to her, but at the very least her opponent was out of commission.

''H-Ha, ha…'' Tsubaki instantly turned around and saw that Priscilla was still awake. While she knew that she didn't go through any vitals when she slashed her, she at least expected her to pass out from the shock. Instead, she was slowly laughing while staring at her in contempt. ''Y-You know, it won't matter how much you struggle, in the end it will be the same result. The only reason we couldn't beat Kurosaiga was because our Queen Shahnaz wasn't with us. She is on a whole different level compared to us, as long as she stands in your way you have no chance of reaching your master.''

''Perhaps you are right…'' Tsubaki admitted, this sudden information was quite disturbing, they barely managed to beat the first attack force of their peerage, there were still members around and now she learned that their Queen is far greater in strength than they were. It was concerning indeed, yet the Sitri Queen's mismatched eyes didn't falter. ''However that isn't any reason for us to stop, we who by all means were supposed to lose to you and your comrades managed to win in the end. As long as we keep on moving forward the door to victory may yet open to us.''

Her speech only made the woman to laugh even more. ''S-Such a foolish girl you are, it will be most delightful to see your broken spirit once you lose.''

Tsubaki only watched over her as her laugh died down and she lost consciousness, she didn't like when someone else had the last word. ''… We won't.''

A strained cough escaped her mouth, her vision going blur for a few moments as her ears started ringing. As much as she held on to her weapons shaft she couldn't stop the dizziness, she tried to pull herself up but instead slipped in the process.

To her surprised she didn't hit the floor, confused she looked up and saw that someone managed to catch her. ''Good job Tsubaki-senpai, you were amazing.''

Even though by all means he was incapacitated and shouldn't have had any way to help them, he still found a way towards victory and passed it over to them, enduring who knows how much pain and here he was praising her in spite of the fact that everything was only possible because of him. She couldn't hold back a small chuckle as she held his now healed and warm hand. ''No… you are the amazing one, Shirou.''

Really, whatever will she do with him?

As the red-haired boy helped her get up and walked, Tsubaki couldn't help but notice a trail of blood running his cheek. ''Where did you get that cut?''

The young magus flinched and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. ''Well…''

* * *

I was still recovering my breath from relaying all of the instructions. Not having any time to waste I had to go fast through each individual team and immediately shift to the next team. I wasn't a very talkative person, so I wasn't used to talking so much without breaks.

A tired sigh escaped my lips as I noticed the return of the makeshift weapons delivery service. ''Good job on delivering all the weapons Momo.''

''It's nothing, were you able to relay to everyone what to do?'' she asked me as she took back her seat and took my hand, returning to healing it. Even though she said that I could tell that little stunt she did was quite exhausting, but I kept quiet about it.

''At some extent, those were all strategies I came up judging by the enemies fighting styles and their overall personalities, but they aren't full proof. Anything could happen that can make them lose even with those weapons.''

''I see… Reya, how is the healing going on your side?'' Momo asked her fellow Bishop.

She didn't ask immediately, taking a second to wipe the sweat on her face. ''Almost there, it won't be long before he can wield his swords again.''

That was good, the moment my hands are back to normal I will go and support the others.

My eyes snapped open as I felt my nose tingle, my body instantly reacted and grabbed the two girls next to me and jumped backwards. Before the two girls could even complain or ask what I was doing someone crashed in the spot we were previously sitting.

''If I knew that you would be such a pain in the ass I would joined as well.'' He spoke with venom in his tone, it was the one with the gas mask that chose not to fight instead opting to watch his comrades do it.

Dammit.

How could I forget about this guy?

He may have said when their group first intercepted us that he won't join the fight and will just sit back and watch, but that was when he thought his team wouldn't have any hard time taking us down. He may have seen me when I projected the noble phantasms and realized how much of threat I really was thus decided to take action. The only solace I could find was that he chose to focus on me instead of backing up his allies.

''Sit back Shirou, we will take care of this.'' Momo declared as she stepped forward, shielding me from the enemy.

This didn't go well with me. ''You can't really expect me to-''

Before I could even finish she snapped at me. ''Oh, yes I do! Your hands are almost healed and if you get them hurt, all we did will be for nothing and will have to do it all over again! Now shut up and let us fight him!''

''Guys, don't want to ruin your little spat, but… what is that thing?'' Reya said carefully as she pointed towards the man. As I took a closer look to where he landed I noticed he stabbed something in the ground. It looked sharp, similar to a blade, but it looked somewhat… organic?

Its end was sharp and curled, dark green in color, and had small spikes running down the edge. There was a certain luster to it that made it shine when exposed to light, but it wasn't steel or any metal I knew of, it looked more like some kind of bone.

There was something definitely wrong here, normally when I see a weapon I get a reaction of some kind upon seeing it, but that one didn't do it. I had a bad feeling about this, something which I voiced in response to Reya's previous question. ''Something we should avoid that's for sure.''

The enemy apparently didn't like being ignored and decided to remind us of him, retracting his blade and rushing to Reya, the braided bishop raised her hands to create a barrier to protect herself, but her enemy was already in front of her.

Sparks flew as the man brought down his weapon, a clicking sound was heard through his gas mask as his attack was blocked by barrier. His body language gave away his confusion, the source of the barrier not being Reya. He turned his head and saw that Momo was the one who blocked him yet this didn't seem to discourage him, it fired him up instead. Drawing another blade from under his cloak, striking with it right next to the opposite one, It wasn't enough for him, he pulled back and kept attacking over and over again in spite of the barrier blocking him.

It may have seemed like a stupid action to many, but it was actually a precise move, continuously striking in the very same spot was slowly cracking the barrier.

This was bad, from what I understood the creating aspect of a barrier isn't the hard part, but the maintaining of it against attacks, especially when it came to continuous attacks. One single attack may not work, but dozens one after another would certainly do the job.

With a final strike the barrier shattered like a glass window, hundreds of pieces flying everywhere, Momo feeling the recoil making her stumble backwards. Now that the wall was down he stepped forward and tried to slash Reya, but failed to see the small smirk on her face.

When his foot touched the ground a magic circle flashed right beneath him, exploding in a large pillar of blazing flames.

Now I understood why Reya stood there and didn't run away, she must have realized that he won't simply let her get away and will try to bring the barrier down. Knowing this she must have placed a trap spell near her and lured him into it.

Reya took a relieved breath as her plan worked, a small gasp came out, followed shortly by blood, and her trembling eyes looking down widening as she saw a blade stabbed in her stomach. A burst of demonic energy erupted from within the pillar of flame, dispersing the majority of it, but his clothes were still on fire.

''Was that supposed to hurt?''

He didn't waste any time and pulled his blade out, allowing for his enemy to properly bleed out, but not before twisting the blade inside her wound, further damaging her insides. Yet, that wasn't enough and he raised his blade once again to strike, his focus all centered on the target in front of him.

That was a mistake on his part.

If it weren't for that he might have noticed when I arrived behind him, and he might have dodged or blocked the kick I did to his ribs.

As he got sent crashing to nearby I wall I took the chance and picked Reya up, rushing her to Momo. While I wasn't able to heal her I managed to use whatever healing magecraft I knew to at the very least ease her pain.

I took a quick glance at her wound and it wasn't looking good. She was bleeding both out and internally, she needed to be treated fast.

The angry expression that was forming on my face was probably giving away my mood. As much as I want to listen to Momo and not get my hands ruined again I have to fight. She can chew me up later all she wants, if it means them being safe I don't care.

My eyes drifted to my palms for a brief moment, attempting to move my fingers. Most of feeling had returned to them, but I still couldn't move them properly, if I tried using my swords I wouldn't be able to properly hold them. If it came down to it I will need to think outside the box and find some other way to fight.

The sound of footsteps close by made me raise my guard, eyes shifting towards where I previously kicked the man. He was slowly walking towards me, his cloak was a complete mess at this point.

''I know I was asking for it when I stabbed your little friend, but surprise attacks are kinda rude don't you think?'' he asked as he stopped in his tracks, I simply ignored him. ''The old silent treatment is it? Well guess I will have to change that.''

He grabbed the tattered cloak and broken gas mask and ripped them off, revealing the body hidden by it. When I saw it I was taken aback by how it looked. It was mostly humanoid but there were some big differences, his body is encased in a segmented, thorny exoskeleton, with clawed feet,and the blades that I saw earlier weren't blades at all but rather scythe-like forelegs similar to those of a praying mantis. It was not that I couldn't see any hand around them, it was because the blades were his hands to begin with. Large yellow eyes glowed in his head, mandibles protruded on each side of his mouth.

I honestly wasn't sure what he was supposed to be, he looked like a cross between a human and a mantis.

''You know that was quite the hit you gave me, if I didn't use my armor at the last second you would have shattered my ribs.'' He chuckled, rubbing the place where I kicked him.

Now that he mentions it when I kicked him I had my leg reinforced, with the amount of force in it even if he was a rook he shouldn't have recovered without sustaining any damage. This only piqued my interest. ''Armor?''

''Hercules beetle plate armor to be precise.'' his demonic aura flared, kaki specs of energy collecting around his body, merging and spreading over it. When the light died down he revealed his full plated body. ''Pretty neat don't you think? Who do you think Priscilla copied her shell armor from?''

He pointed out to the current fight going on between Tsubaki-senpai and his comrade, who also was wearing a similar type of armor. So it seemed that this guy was also some kind of chimera hybrid.

The mantis man rushed towards me, his scythe like appendage aimed for my chest. I crouched at the very last second, avoiding a fatal wound, but I still got lightly cut by him.

Not wasting any time I jumped back up and kicked him to the sides, the man not bothering to block since it was protected by his armor. My kick pushed him away a couple of meters, while it visibly didn't do any damage he definitely felt it, the way he walked was showing it.

Armor may offer one protection from slash and piercing attacks, but blunt force was a different story, while he can still block the attacks he can still feel the force of the impact.

Once again he charged at me, swinging his scythe like arms one after another to make sure I didn't have anywhere to dodge. His swings were fast and relentless, no playing around on his part, and focusing only on my vitals. Dodging would prove rather difficult, but I still managed to do it regardless.

No matter how much I am taught about magecraft or do sparring matches I never obtain the same results like when I am fighting with my life on the line. The combat training I did with aunt Maiya proved vital, I might not have noticed it before but as I fight this man I slowly am seeing the results. I was getting a solid image of his fighting style, how fast his swings and reaction speed is.

As I dodged the strikes of his appendages I noticed something about his fighting style.

It was crude.

To a complete amateur it might look like he knew what he was doing, but I knew the truth.

This guy is a complete novice at sword fights.

There was no real style behind it, he was just randomly swinging his scythes at me trying to get a hit on my vitals. There were no faints, target shifts, or any overall precision behind them.

Perhaps I can do this even without using my swords.

I let out a deep breath, raising my guard up in a boxing stance. My opponent looked curiously at me for a couple of seconds but that didn't stop him from assault.

His blade was approaching but I simply waited. When I felt the edge almost touch me I dodge and pushed forward.

Reinforcing my hands I pummeled his chest with palm of my hand, while it did not do as much damage as fist would do, this way I could prevent my hands from taking any more damage. The strike wasn't enough so I went on, recalling every bit of CQC that aunt Maiya taught me I pushed forward and kept hitting him repeatedly, each strike making him gasp in pain for air.

The armor he was wearing was limiting the damage his body was receiving, that was true, however he didn't have a way to limit the damage I was doing to the armor itself.

Unlike what my enemy did where he simply aimed for any vitals he could, I on the other hand had focused on only a single point where I would strike. After the seventh strike I delivered I heard something crack.

This was what I was aiming for.

With a quick spin on my heel, I jabbed my elbow in the place where it started to crack. The impact was strong, sending him crashing away at a distance.

I used this few seconds to check the state of my hands, fortunately they were ok and didn't get further damaged. The fact that they were reinforced the whole time also probably helped them stay in one piece.

Changing my focus back to my enemy I got to see that he wasn't in the best of shape, sitting on his knees gasping for air with his arms sitting limply to his side, the plated section where I elbowed him was also affected, a spider web like pattern was spread all over the chest area, and seemingly only a hit away from shattering completely.

I carefully walked over to him, my hands ready to strike the moment I see any sudden movement from him. When I was in front of him he lifted his mantis like head and stared at me with his broken eyes. ''… I g-give up... so please… spare me.''

That… wasn't what I expected. I know the strikes I did on him must have hurt but I didn't expect him to give up.

However this was a result I wasn't dissatisfied with, enemy or not I don't enjoy hurting people. They may be standing in our way to save Sona but it's because it's their orders not their personal choice… it couldn't be helped.

My hand relaxed on reflex, something that he also noticed. His head bowed down as he started coughing violently, blood dripping down floor.

As much as I appreciated that this was over, something just didn't feel right with me. The more I heard him cough the more that feeling kept increasing. It was when he suddenly chuckled and raised back his head that my wariness was proven true.

Before I could even react he split opened his mouth to the sides and screamed releasing something.

''Gahh!'' I gasped I felt my dozens of stabbing pains all over my upper body. My eyes glanced down and I silently cursed at what I saw. Dozens of needle like shards were buried deep in my flesh.

Dammit… I couldn't believe how stupid I was, of all the rules of combat that aunt Maiya tried to so hard to drill in my head I broke one of the most important and basic ones.

Never let your guard down, no matter what.

''Shirou!'' Momo didn't seem to take the sight of me getting turned into a pincushion too well. As busy as she was trying to heal Reya she still kept a close eye on the battle, the way it was going on made her anger flare as she charged a fire spell towards my attacker. ''You bastard!''

He easily dodged the first fireball and regrouped in front of nearby wall, but this didn't stop Momo, she kept shooting one fire ball after another.

This however wasn't bothering the mantis man and he kept dodging every blast, but strangely he wasn't running away anymore but rather dodging while keeping his position. ''Good! Keep shooting at me!''

''Stand still then!'' Momo snapped at him, further increasing the speed of her attack.

''Yes! Heat!'' the man laughed in excitement, something that made me realize that Momo attacking him with fire was a grave mistake. However what followed next really took me by surprise, he raised his scythe like arms and jammed them to where I cracked his armor. He proceeded to forcefully open it like a window as a gelatinous like substance was sticking to it from the inside. ''Just what I need for my children to grow!''

When I heard this I focused on the now exposed chest area, dozens of spheres were embedded into his flesh, said spheres starting to crack open, and wasp like monsters the size of pigeons came out of them.

I was speechless by what I saw, not entirely sure what I was even supposed to say or think at seeing such a thing, but it seemed that Momo had an answer to this.

''Disgusting!'' the way her face paled was indicating how much she was struggling to keep herself from puking, even Reya was visibly disturbed by what she was seeing.

He lifted one of his scythes and gently rubbed it against one of the wasps head.

''You might have assumed I was a knight, but I'm actually a bishop.'' He chuckled briefly. ''The armor wasn't just meant to protect me, it was also meant to keep my children safe as they incubate in me. Quite the cute things they are, a rare breed of demon wasps called Saimyōshō.''

So that's how it was, those eggs probably kept growing as we fought, his powers focused on making them grow, the process going faster the more heated up he became, and the fire attacks made by Momo further accelerated it.

Momo for one was finding this whole situation quite frustrating judging by her behavior, running her hand through her hair violently. ''Just how is a mantis guy supposed to give birth to wasp monsters?! It doesn't make any sense!''

''…''

I wasn't sure if that was really what really bothered her or if the stress and exhaustion finally caught up to her and she was just speaking whatever was on her mind at the moment, so I chose to not comment about it. Reya on the other hand tried to calm her friend down even though she was still injured. ''Calm down Momo, remember how the other members of his group were turned into chimera hybrids, I'm sure that is that same case with him.''

''I get that but it's still weird! And why did it have to be bugs?!''

''You know it's really rude to talk about someone when their right in front of you.'' The mantis man commented as he rolled his eyes, a really odd image considering his insect like head.

''Oh shut up bug boy!''

''Hey, I have a name you know!''

What?

''Like you ever said it!''

''Geez, no need to scream like that, just call me Sting.''

''Sting… really?''

Okay, again now. What?

''Got a problem with my name?''

''No…''

Was I the only one that still remembered we were in the middle of a fight? Because as I see it Momo and this Sting guy seemed to have somewhat forgotten that small detail.

The interlude was short lived though, as Stings eyes began narrowing as he pointed his scythe at the two bishops, the demonic wasps that were on standby up until now have started moving as their targets having been selected.

The eyes of the two girls widened as they saw the new approaching enemies, igniting their magic circles they began blasting at them with magic attacks. Unfortunately the targets were flying too fast for them and were able to dodge all their attacks. The first wave of demon wasps reached them and prepared to sting them, the two bishops barely managing to put up barrier as one of the wasp's stingers were mere inches away from Momo's eye.

They were safe, but it only a temporally defense. The wasps started attacking the barrier and it seemed that they would make their way through it if nothing is done fast.

I had to do something.

A deep breath made its way inside me, and an equally deep exhale found its way outside.

I scanned the surroundings and began making a plan in my mind, taking in account the distance, number of wasps, and my overall condition.

Those damn needles he shot in me hurt like hell, but I couldn't take them out because depending on how deep they are I may bleed too much and have major case of blood loss on my hands. My whole upper body was numb which probably meant they were laced with some kind of poison as well.

Focus… visualize where you want them to appear.

'' **Trace on!** ''

For a moment I felt a strong jolt running down my back, no doubt I still didn't fully recover from the projections I did earlier but I tried to ignore the pain.

The married blades were projected in the air in front of me, not wasting any time I pulled back my arms and jabbed them forward, the palms of my hands hitting the handles of the swords, sending each of them spinning in an opposite direction.

To anyone watching it would seem like I started going completely nuts by hitting them like that, however for those who knew of the 'attraction' the two sword held for the other they would know that they will keep trying to be brought together whenever thrown. As such when I sent them spinning the trajectories slowly changed as they made their way in the air.

Such that they made their way right at the wasps that were attacking the girls, shredding them to pieces, blood and gore covering the almost broken barrier, the two girls were visibly paling from having the butchered flesh so close to them.

The sudden death of his minions drew Stings attention back at me, clearly pissed by what I just did. No scratch that, the man had an absolutely livid expression, which was further accentuated by his mantis like head.

The fact that he changed his target from Reya and Momo to me was a good thing, but it also raised new problems, such as what happens now?

From what I could notice new batches of eggs began cracking open, meaning in a few moments a new swarm of those wasps will appear.

Using Kanshou and Bakuya like I did before was only a onetime thing, now he will expect me to try it again, but truth be told I doubt it would work again. The way I sent them flying was far too unstable, heck it was mostly dumb luck that the swords managed to get all the wasps in one go.

I missed the chance to take him out when it counted, and now that he can hatch those wasps there is no need for him to fight anymore. As things stand all he had to do was keep making new wasps over and over again until they were dead.

In order to win I have to defeat him in one strike.

My eyes slowly narrowed at the new batch of wasps that took flight, it may be reckless move but I need to focus on Sting, not on them.

''So the cripple thinks he can fight?'' the mantis man sneered at me, his eyes glowing in anger as he raised his arm towards me. ''Devour him!''

As per command the demon wasps started swarming towards me, acid like drool coming out of their mouths in anticipation towards eating me.

I started walking slowly, my arm stretched to the side. Walking was the only thing I could do, the numbness from the needles was making me barely move.

The way things were I had to gamble everything on my projection.

 _Search start._

Think… not something that can necessarily be used for offence, but something that could help me reach him despite the current situation.

 _Searching…_

I need something to make me get pass those bugs, something that can help me even though my hands weren't at full strength.

 _Match found._

 _Steel knitted scarf, the most elegant of protections._

'' **Trace on!** ''

I tried to ignore the pain even though it was even worse than before. Wisps of cyan light danced around my arm as the new projection wrapped around it. Archer was right, as long as I visualized where I wanted the projection to appear it will do so.

It was a long silvery scarf, a wave like pattern going down on it, a surprising peppermint scent could be felt from it. The moment the scarf embraced my skin I projected a copy of Bakuya, using the scarf as a rope to tie it in my hand.

I took one step forward.

The wasps almost reached me.

I focused my reinforcement in my legs, even if my upper body was barely moving my legs still had life in them. With a powerful dash forward I dived head on in the swarm of wasps, the demonic insects instantly reacting and attacking me.

For a moment I heard the terrified gasps of Momo and Reya, overlaying with the sadistic laughs of Sting. I was surrounded, there was nothing that could stop the wasps from devouring me.

Or so it would seem.

My body rushed out through the wall of wasps, the eyes of the mantis man bulging at the current state of my body. No wounds were obtained from the clash between me and wasps.

''W-What the shit?!'' Sting voiced his disbelief as his wasps kept swarming around me and yet they wouldn't dare come within my reach. ''Why don't my children attack him?!''

It was understandable that he couldn't comprehend what was going on. Perhaps if he knew that the scarf around my arm was acting as a ward that repelled them he wouldn't be so worked up.

I reached Sting, groggily pulling my arm backwards and preparing to strike. His shocked state held him back from properly reacting to me, confused about what to do he disregarded dodging and sought to strike back his scythe arm jabbed forward towards my head.

Three seconds.

Two seconds.

One.

The very moment I felt him nick my cheek I pushed myself to the side, while it still cut me deeply I still managed to narrowly avoid the attack. While I couldn't move properly due to the poison, my body was being carried by the momentum of my dash, as such all I needed to do was turn myself to the right angle and my sword went through him.

Pale green blood gushed out of his wound, the scythe like arm stabbing itself in the ground, right in front of its former owner, the glass shattering shriek filling the room. ''Gahh! My arm!''

I grit my teeth as I slammed my foot down and tried to stop my momentum. My foot heated instantly, the sole on my shoe probably got ruined from the powerful friction but I ignored all of that, quickly turning around to face Sting.

The moment our eyes met I saw the horror form on his face as I glared at him, yet it didn't originate from me, the fear he was feeling was produced by the scarf around my arm. That fear quickly built in him and exploded, as he immediately began turning around and started running away.

I wasn't going to let him get away.

With this in mind I attempted to dash after him. The moment I tried to run after him my foot throbbed violently, the sudden break I did previously must have ripped something.

I stumbled for a moment, but that allowed me to see Tomoe fight in the distance, witnessing her performing the Senkyouka. She was waiting for an opportunity to strike so I helped her out.

''Tsubasa! Retreat now!'' I shouted as I tapped the communication spell on my ear.

It was at that moment that an idea popped in my head. It seemed that I had to borrow Kurosaiga's sword for a bit.

I projected **Juuchi Yosamu** in front of me and let it fall down. With the amount of pain going through my body the additional one from this projection was just salt over wound.

With the way **Juuchi Yosamu's** style and powers worked I never considered trying to use it. It was indeed a good sword, but it relied heavily on mending ones demonic energy into it to further power it and use the **Senkyouka** techniques, something which I couldn't do due to my apparent lack of demonic energy. As such I didn't bother trying to use it.

There were some exceptions though.

Certain sword techniques that Kurosaiga used were deeply engraved into its history. One of them that he used on Sona during their encounter had no demonic energy involved, just pure skill and precision.

I reinforced my eyesight and locked my aim on the target.

When the sword almost reached the ground I kicked it in the handle, shooting it forward just like a bullet.

It was a shame Sting was running in a straight line, otherwise this technique would have been useless.

The mantis man did seem to register the sound of the sword rushing towards him but it already too late, it punctured through his back and burst open through his front. Everything happened in a heartbeat, one moment he was running the next he stopped and discovered the gaping wound in his body. Perhaps the strike was so fast that he didn't even register it at first, but when he did his reaction was simple, his eyes rolled in his head and he fell down like a puppet that got its strings cut.

He wasn't dead, no vitals were pierced when the sword went through him, but the shock must have made him pass out.

My leg gave up on me and I fell on my side. While I was trying to catch my breath I checked my hands, to my own surprise they didn't get damaged.

Well at least Momo won't complain that I wasted their healing.

* * *

''And that's about what happened.'' I concluded my little attempt at briefing, and what I got in return was a dry stare from Tsubaki-senpai.

''That was crazy Shirou.'' She told me in flat done.

To my own end I couldn't help but give a slight remark. ''Is what we do ever normal?''

She opened her mouth to comment at this but struggled to find the right retort, eventually sighing in defeat. ''Touché.''

It took us a bit to regroup, tie up the enemies, calm down, but after taking in account everything that happened this battle ended up on a good note. While everyone got pretty roughed up, some more than the others, everyone was still alive and no one was in a critical state.

''Everyone still in one piece?'' I asked as I rubbed my chest, even though the needles were taken out the areas they stabbed still itched, but I kept quiet.

''Missing a tooth or two but I can manage.'' Saji commented as he cracked his neck.

I nodded slowly as I took another look around at each of them. Reya and Momo were clearly exhausted from healing all of us, even though Tsubaki-senpai tagged in and helped them out. The way things stand they will need some time to recover so we will have to be extra careful and not get injured.

It wasn't easy but we managed to get through this, yet that doesn't change the fact that this encounter was quite taxing on the others. Their wounds may have been healed but the accumulated fatigue is still there. If more enemies come to fight they probably won't last that much longer even if they have the noble phantasms I project.

My fist tightened as I contemplated the current situation.

Since my hands are back to full usage I will take the front line when another enemy appears. It's the least I can do for how hard they fought just now.

As I was lost in my thoughts Tsubasa wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled me into a headlock, lightly jabbing her gauntlet clad fist in my face. ''So… mind telling us just what the hell is up with these kickass weapons?''

Oh, right…

I never really explained how my projections work and all of them were under that impression that I basically just create swords. So they must have been surprised when I procured them various weapons.

Feeling a bit awkward I rubbed the back of my head as I started explaining. ''Well since I couldn't fight myself I tried thinking of a different way to support you guys, the only thing that came to my mind was to give you something to even up the field.''

Everyone nodded slightly at this, Ruruko stepping forward and began. ''Well at least we know that you don't have a sacred gear, since I haven't heard of one that allows the user to create different kinds of weapons.''

I sighed as head this. ''You still believed that?''

''I'm hard to convince, ok.'' The twin tailed pawn muttered.

''If you didn't use a sacred gear then how did you create them?'' Tomoe asked.

''It's part of my magecraft, it's supposed to be a basic spell called Projection, in essence it allows for one to replicate objects by using magical energy. But usually they are just hollow knockoffs that are quite fragile and don't even last very long.'' I carefully elaborated, reiterating that lesson Sella taught me about Gradation Air. ''Somehow I have a unique magical inclination that makes me able to evolve that spell, turning it into what I call Tracing. With it I can replicate any weapon I see down to the smallest detail, even its own powers and history.''

From the unblinking stares I was getting from everyone while they did appear to understand my explanation to some extent but they clearly were having hard time wrapping their heads around it.

The awkward silence was finally broken by Momo. ''Wow… wait a second, in order to copy them you must have come across them in some them in some form, where did you even find them?''

She was making a fair argument, unfortunately I didn't exactly had a good answer to give.

''It's a bit complicated…'' I muttered, to be honest I wasn't sure myself how the weapons just happened to flash through my mind, there seemed to be some kind of trigger involved that I haven't understood yet. It must have a connection to Archer somehow but he hasn't told me anything so I'm pretty much in the dark. ''Also, those weapons aren't just regular weapons, they're noble phantasms.''

''Noble phantasms?'' a lot of heads tilted in confusion.

I considered going into details about them, but since they already had a bit of a hard time understanding my tracing, if I start elaborating the whole prospects of crystallized legends and myths turned into conceptual weapons and abilities that define those legends they would probably burn a fuse. ''Basically the weapons of heroes in myths and legends.''

''Oh!'' the collective awe was telling me that they understood me.

''Take that spear for instance, it's called **Gáe Dearg** , it was one of the spears wielded by the Irish hero, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, it has the ability to bypass magic based enchantments or skills, and cancel them as long as the blade of it makes contact with the source. If you used it for instance against a person wearing armor made out of magic, it will bypass it like it didn't even exist.''

There was quite the group reaction from this tid bit, everyone staring at Ruruko and the weapon she held, the pawn in question looking quite shell-shocked by what she was holding.

The first one to recover was Tsubaki-senpai, raising the halberd and asking. ''Then what about this weapon?''

''That weapon has its roots within Chinese history, specifically within the Romance of the Three Kingdoms era and is probably the strongest weapon created during its time period. It's called **Houtengageki** , the two handed halberd known as the primary weapon of Lü Bu Fèngxiān, the General of Repetition. While it may lack any special magical properties compared to other weapons it is on the other hand a masterpiece of a weapon due to its versatility that put to use all major characteristics of large two handed weapons, allowing it to be efficient in slashing, thrusting, battering, scything, and sweeping.''

Once again I was getting impressed looks from the people around me, Tsubaki-senpai particularly had an uncharacteristic sparkle in her eyes, like a child receiving a new toy and couldn't wait to play with it.

Before I could comment about this, Reya was tucking on the scarf still tied around my arm. ''What about this scarf you used? I mean it looks stylish and all but it doesn't really look like a weapon.''

''This one is more of a conceptual weapon, called the **Hachi-no-hire** , part of Tokusa-no-Kandakara, also it may look like a regular scarf but it's actually made from strings of steel knitted together and blessed by the local god of the region it was made in. It has a powerful protection spell embedded in it, protecting the owner from all forms of insects, instilling a primal fear into them making them unable to reach the user. It may sound like a useless ability, but it protects the user from the 'concept' of insects, as such any form of creature that has insect like attributes or powers will be affected by it. ''

I was getting quite the analytical look from the others, probably trying to discern if they thought it was useless or handy to have around. The only ones that seemed more easy going about it were Reya and Momo, the latter somehow managing to unwrap it from my arm while I was busy explaining, then proceeded to wrap it around her fellows Bishops neck. Childish antics aside, I had to admit that it looked quite good on her.

I turned around as I felt Tsubasa jab her fist in my face, gesturing towards the gauntlets covering them. ''What about these bad boys?''

Oh right… those were the hardest ones to trace, the fact that they were defensive armaments and not swords or at the very least offensive weapons really took a toll on me, I could have traced twenty pairs of Kanshou and Bakuya one after the other without a second to rest and I wouldn't get that kind of feedback. Food for fought next time I try projecting armor type noble phantasm.

''Those gauntlets are called **Járngreipr** , they belonged to the Norse God Thor and was one of the items that he required in order to use his hammer Mjölnir. Not only do they increase the user's physical strength, but they also give them a very powerful elemental resistance making them able to shrug off even a point blank thunder strike.'' I elaborated carefully.

Tsubasa nodded casually as she looked at them for a few seconds, her mouth dropping and eyes beginning to open wide as she realized something. ''Wait a minute, w-wait, wait a minute! Hold it! Wait!''

As she tried to recover from the mumbling mess she let out, which reminded me of an certain American stand-up comedian that Ayako once showed me video of, she reached for my shirt and pulled me closer her blue eyes looking like they were about to pop out of her head at any second. ''This things belonged to Thor?! Thor the mother fucking Norse god of thunder?! One of the ten strongest beings in this world!? That Thor?!''

Hm… now that she puts it like that I guess it is kind of shocking for me to replicate one of the weapons of the most popular Norse deity with Odin and Loki right behind. Makes one wonder what kind of reaction I would have got if I somehow traced Mjölnir.

It seemed that the others finally recovered from the shock and joined the shouting contest, Tomoe being the front liner. ''Shi-chan you can replicate god class weapons!?''

''Not really, at least I don't think so.'' I answered with a straight face.

No words were spoken, everyone was just staring at me.

Three, two, on-

''The hell?! Then how did you make these things?!'' Saji roared as he hit one the of Járngreipr gauntlets, immediately regretting it by how he start rubbing his hand, though this did seem to give Tsubasa a good laugh.

It seemed I had to explain a little what was going. ''A common misconception, while those gauntlets were used by him, neither Thor or any other god created them, but rather they were made by the dwarf blacksmith brothers Eitri and Brokkr, the very same blacksmiths that forged **Mjolnir** , Thor's legendary hammer. It was due to Loki's interference when they forged Mjolnir that its handle came out shorter than intended, because of that whenever Thor tried using his hammer because his hands were so close to the top part where all the power of thunder and lightning he wielded was channeled, his hands would get hurt from the backlash. That's where the gauntlets came in play, they would act as protection and allow Thor to use his hammer without any drawbacks.''

While they did seem to understand where I was going with this, Tsubaki-senpai apparently had more to ask. ''And you know all of this how?''

''The weapons history. When I trace a weapon I don't simply create a physical copy, I replicate everything about it, even its own history. As such, when I trace a weapon all of the knowledge regarding it, it flashes through my mind.''

I may say this but truth be told when I trace a weapon the process is extremely fast, within those seconds in which the tracing takes place years' worth of information regarding what I'm tracing flashes through my mind. At the end of it all, I retain only the small and important information about it, a sort of self-preservation mechanism since the sudden intake of so much knowledge may be far too much for my mind to handle.

''So wait, let's say I hypothetically wield a weapon that could level a country, you're telling me you can copy it with all its powers?'' Momo asked me with a shaking voice, the prospects of what I may potentially be able to do clearly shocking her.

''Pretty much… I guess.'' I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

Once again explaining my powers has made the group stare silently at me. Maybe when they are arguing I can just do that to calm them down.

The first one to speak was Tsubasa, laughing tiredly at me. ''That… sounds kinda broken bro.''

''Try hax…'' Saji remarked somewhat annoyed.

''Well, I'm glad you're on our side Shirou and not a member of the church or the Grigori.'' Tomoe chuckled nervously as she patted me on the back.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose as this situation escalated far too much. ''Ok look, the way my powers work isn't important, right now we need to focus on saving Sona.''

Everyone nodded and started picking themselves up, our first battle was over but we couldn't let our guard down, there was no telling how many people Segrif still had around here.

The first step I took on the staircase was the only one as I froze on the spot, a jolt of pain running through my body like electricity. I gasped and grabbed my face, my vision going blurry for few moments before going back to normal.

I wasn't sure what was going on, my wounds were healed and the poison was already taken care of. So this sudden surge of pain was making me worried to what was going on with me.

 _ **''That's what you get for projecting multiple unknown noble phantasms with your current level.''**_ Archer replied in contempt.

So that's how it was… should have expected it sooner or later, though later would have been much more preferable.

 _''It's a pain I'm ready to endure.''_

 ** _''Even if your mind can endure it, your body is a different story. Your friend told you didn't she, how your vitals had stopped?''_ ** He allowed me some time to reply but I didn't, not having a solid argument to give. ' ** _'Sella also warned you before, using magecraft that is beyond ones abilities will have powerful backlashes. You were lucky nothing major happened, however if that happens to you in mid battle your dead, never make that mistake.''_**

There was some truth in that… if my mind blacked out before when I fought with Sting I would have died.

With how things are… I'm not sure how many projections I have in me before my body breaks down. If I rely on Kanshou and Bakuya I might manage several copies, but if I try new tracing new noble phantasms I think that if I go past two or three my body will finally give out.

 ** _''That being said… as reckless as it was, what you did was a good call, those kids have drive, but that isn't enough to make up for the difference in skill and power. As they are now facing enemies of this level is asking too much, however if they gain support from noble phantasms they might just make it.''_ ** Archer remarked in somewhat amused tone, perhaps he had his own ways of dealing with everything without doing what I did, but I decided not to comment about it and let him do his part. ** _''However don't let that become a habit, they need to get stronger on their own, you can't have them rely on you all the time for there certainly will come times when they will face strong enemies and you won't be there, for that they must learn to take care of themselves.''_**

... I didn't like coming to the same conclusion as him, but he was absolutely right, I don't have any problem helping them however that can become bad in the long term of things. Something must done…

I clicked my teeth as I shook my head, getting rid of any lingering dizziness and started climbing the stairs again. _''I'll think of something later, for now we have a job to do.''_

 ** _''A fair point.''_**

* * *

The Sitri group was making their way through the dark corridors of the hideout, all of them feeling a bit edgy due to the previous encounter, but also more careful with each step they took.

Among them the one that appeared most distraught and stressed was the white haired bishop of the group, something that her best friend easily noticed.

''Is everything alright Momo?'' Reya asked Momo as she put her hand on her shoulder, clear concern in her voice.

She didn't speak at first and just continued walking, thinking carefully about the cause of her distress, a dry sigh escaping her lips. ''I'm not sure…''

''What do you mean?'' her friend inquired.

''It's about Shirou… when he made those weapons something happened that really disturbed me.''

''What happened?'' Tsubasa asked as she stepped between the two bishops, having silently listened to them.

''His eyes, they… I don't know how or why, but for a moment before those weapons materialized his eyes changed.'' Her friends noticed her shivering, how her eyes wondered in concern towards the red haired boy leading the group. ''They were there for a moment but I saw them, steel grey eyes.''

''Is that all?'' Tsubasa remarked with unimpressed half lidded eyes. ''So his eye color changed for a bit, big deal.''

She wasn't an expert in eyes, but she was aware that there were plenty of cases in the supernatural with one's eyes changing color. Most examples she knew of involved spells that affected the eyes, like illusion or curse based ones. Another thing she knew of was supernatural inheritance, certain unnatural eye colors were a sign of inhuman races, and those individuals usually hid them with color changing spells. As such the whole bit with Shirou's eyes going grey didn't seem like something all that important.

Momo shook her head desperately. ''You don't understand, it wasn't the color that disturbed me.''

Her reaction was actually starting get Tsubasa worried. ''Then what was it?''

''The look he had in them… it was completely different from his usual self, yet it still felt like it was his own. But that's the thing that scares me, they were cold and calculative, there was a detachment in them… they just felt more machine than human.''

The two girls looked at each other for a few seconds unsure what to do or say in this situation, they understood Momo's reason of concern, it was justified, but unfortunately they couldn't do anything, not at the moment. Reya gave her friend a brief hug and tried to reassure her. ''I get why you are worried, trust me I do, but now we have to save Kaichou. We can't stop to worry about ourselves.''

The lips of the white haired bishop quivered. She didn't like this situation one bit, Shirou was someone she has been growing close to for a while and can even call a good friend, so it was difficult to just bite down and brush her concern aside, but she had to do it.

Her eyes wondered once again at the red haired magus, confusion forming on her face as he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his hands flashing in cyan light before he shot them up in the air.

A strong gale of wind hit her head on.

As she struggled to keep her eyes open against it, she witnessed the source of it, held tightly in Shirou's hands. With a strong clutch the arrows that Shirou had just caught got shattered.

The sword magus opened his hands and let the arrow remains fall, a cold glare present in his amber eyes. ''The first time you got me… I'd have to be the biggest fool to fall for the same trick twice!''

Up on a nearby railing a cloaked figure clicked her teeth, the woman with the jade bow was actually hoping that she could get another lucky shot like she did the first time. ''Well shucks, it seems someone learns from his mistakes.''

The battle was just getting started.

* * *

 **Omake: The adventures of the Emiya house.**

Shirou wasn't quite sure what to expect when it came down to living together in the Emiya/Einzbern family. Each member seemed unique in their own way but he generally got along with everyone even though he didn't really know what each of them used to do before they all moved in together.

Leysritt was such a mystery to him, the first week of living together the white haired woman was going around the house as if she was at a museum. Any time she caught something that intrigued her she would just stare at it for minutes without blinking.

It wasn't really something bad at first, but it all changed when Liz discovered the malicious and manipulative device that was the TV.

Like an ever evolving process Liz started watching more and more until one could actually see her imprint in the couch whenever she would get up… which was becoming ever so rarer much to her sister's annoyance over her actions or rather her inaction.

Shirou could only sigh as Sella kept bickering with Liz, calling her a slob and a failure as an Einzbern maid, not that Liz really seemed to give a damn.

The red haired boy wasn't one to judge, and he didn't mind doing her share of work around the house since Sella didn't really let him help out. He was sure that Liz will eventually get bored of watching TV and chowing down on snacks one of these days and everything will be fine.

…

Oh, who was he kidding?

Liz was probably the laziest person he ever met… or at least he thinks she was… since he didn't have any memories before getting adopted.

Anyway Shirou wasn't really sure how to think about this. Such were his thoughts when he went to the living room to ask Liz if she wanted to go shopping with him.

His face instantly turned the same shade as his hair upon witnessing the Einzbern's maid form. She was currently engaged in trying to recover the TV's remote that somehow ended under the coffee table in front of the couch. Now any normal person would just get up and pick it up, Liz however was trying to reach for it while still keeping contact with the coach, as such she barely keeping her lower half on the couch, one of her arms to support herself on the floor, while the other one trying to reach for the remote. The woman was so focused on recovering the blasted piece of plastic that she completely disregarded how her clothes were, her already loose shirt was falling backwards due to her bent position revealing her toned abdomen, but that was completely tame compared to how her lower part was, her shorts were half pulled down enough for the young Emiya to get a full view of her panties.

''Hm?'' Liz turned around and stared at the empty air, weird, she could've sworn there was someone there… must have been her imagination.

Shirou didn't know why but when he saw Liz like that he instantly dashed out of the house.

A smart move on his part, as he narrowly avoided the horror of witnessing Sella's rampaging figure when she discovered the scandalous state her sister was in.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

So apparently it took me a bit longer to post this chapter.

Well this chapter is pretty big, actually my longest one ever made, truth be told I could have divided it in two parts and give two chapters instead, but I ended it on such a cliffhanger that it would have been a dick move on my part to do another one without giving some proper action.

For some reason people were under the impression that Shirou went blind last chapter, no, he didn't go blind, he just couldn't see in the pitch dark corridor.

Since I made Shirou unable to use his hands everyone expected him to use sword barrel or rain of swords on the enemies and save the day, that or he got his hands healed at the last second and save the day. I instead did something different, and made him abuse projecting. Now before you bite my head off and say that the Sitri shouldn't be able to use NP's, they never really actually used them properly. They just used them like simple weapons, not NPS. If Shirou uses them he can access the memories within them and replicate how to use them like their original owners, the others use them however they could using their own style and techniques with them. Also before anyone brings up Gae Dearg, its special ability is a passive one, it doesn't require the user to activate it.

Hope you enjoyed my OC's. They weren't exactly the best ones you could find but they were mostly fodder so you can't expect many expectations from them, but I tried to go out of my way and give them more interesting powers and characteristics than simple magic attack, boom, explosion. The names weren't so original, that's for sure.

So exam session is over, a real bitch that's for sure. Well hope I can charge my batteries for the next two months and get to write more.

DxD hero finished, well I think the new studio did pretty good job adapting the volumes, at least they didn't go like DxD born with their own route.

Was I the only one surprised by some character designs? Specifically Diehauser and Indra. The first looks surprisingly like Archer if you ask me, while Indra looks… I don't know what the right word… thick? For some reason I was expecting a thinner looking guy, don't know why, but at least they got his persona pretty ok, you could just peel off the godly arrogance off from him. It makes one really curious how Shiva would look.

Also am I the only one hearing Ainz Ooal Gown filing a copyright infringement against Hades?

Hope the studio will do an OVA with the Armageddon at the school festival story. I think we can all agree that we need to see Gabriel animated.

Anyway so the first set of battles in this arc is done, still a few left before I wrap things up, I think 2 chapters will do the job.

* * *

 **Now about the NP's that appeared in this chapter:**

 **Gáe Dearg: Crimson Rose of Exorcism**

Rank: B

Type: Anti-Unit

Abilities: Same abilities as canon

 **Houtengageki: The Decorated Halberd that Matches the Heavens**

Rank: A

Type: Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress

Abilities: Same abilities as canon

 **Járngreipr: The iron grippers**

Rank: B

Type: Anti-Unit

Abilities: The Iron gauntlets user by Thor to wield Mjolnir. Due to Mjolnir's handle being too short Thor would always get his hands burned whenever he channel the power of thunder with it, the action being like holding torch near the part where the flame burned. As such the gauntlets act as wards to block away elemental forces, granting them protection similar to an A rank magic resistance.

While wearing both of them the user will also receive an ''+'' boost in their strength parameter. Should for instance the user have C rank strength, wearing them will raise it to a C+ rank

It must not be confused with the variant used by Magni, the son of Thor. When he recovered the armaments used by his father he only found one of the gauntlets, as such he didn't receive the full set of abilities that they bestow due to both of them being required.

 **Hachi-no-hire: The wasp scarf**

Rank: D

Type: Anti-Unit (self)

Abilities: One of the ten treasures brought by Korean prince Amenohiboko when he settled in Japan, said to be housed in Isonokami shrine. According to the Nihon Shoki, Amenohiboko was a prince from Korea who settled in Japan.

The scarf was kitted with the steel thread produced by an old spider youkai and kept for many days in special peppermint concoction to sip its scent into it.

Wearing the scarf produces a unique form of barrier around the user, like a layer of cloth invisible to the naked eye. The barrier produces an effect that causes pure dread within insects and creatures with insect like attributes within its range, making them unable to get to close to the owner. Highly effective towards wasps and other similar creatures, the youkai whose tread was used to make the scarf being a natural predator of wasps.

While it may not have much usage outside of its specific protection, it's still is quite a sturdy piece of cloth, able to block sword slashes.

Wearing it for long periods of time isn't advised as the strong peppermint scent on it may cause dizziness.

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review; I could use some constructive criticism.**


	14. The lion king and the time Empress

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money off of this.**

* * *

 _Here it was…_

 _My first step…_

 _The blazing sun up high…_

 _The dancing sand in the wind…_

 _The location of my target up ahead._

* * *

 _Chapter 14:_

 _The lion king and the time Empress_

* * *

''Almost there…'' Segrif Zepar whispered in a haggard tone, he really needed a drink, both to quench his thirst but also take his edge off the problems at hand. The procedure was long and straining, the process of it draining him both physically and mentally.

He was well aware that his fiancée was quite gifted intellectually and the plan to perform mind altering magic on her even with the help of the stone he procured wouldn't be an easy task. By now any normal devil would have long succumbed to his influence, but not Sona Sitri, she kept on fighting and resisting over and over again denying him.

Yet, even she had her limits.

A strained breath escaped the Zepar heir's lips as he backed away from his chained prisoner and took a seat on a nearby chair, taking a gold trimmed handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away the sweat pouring down his face. ''F-Finally… it's complete…''

A heavy silence in the room as neither him nor Sona made any sounds. After catching his breath he got back up and walked over to her, slowly lifting her head up, looking at the girls dull purple eyes. There were many things he had to check before he could jump to any conclusions. ''Tell me, what is your name?''

''… Sona Sitri.'' She responded mechanically.

He gave a small nod. ''Good… now, who am I?''

''… Segrif Zepar.''

''Now, what am I to you?''

''… My fiancée''

''Are you going to marry me?''

''… Yes.''

His lips curved slightly at this answer. ''Perfect, now tell me, what made you change your mind considering our difficult relationship up until this point.''

It was at this moment that her features softened and started appearing like her usual self again. ''After a long and insightful conversation with you I realized that a marriage between us would be most beneficial to both of us and our respectful houses. While I may not love you at the moment perhaps things will change in the future, so I am willing to give a chance to our relationship.''

A smile spread all the way to his ears, he just loved it when things went his way. It would have been so easy to turn her into a simple drone, but that would have been too obvious to even the stupidest of people. He would have been immediately caught red handed the very moment someone with any bit of knowledge in demonic magic laid eyes on her, so he instead opted for a subconscious suggestion, implanting the idea in her mind in a way that she herself will process and see things without realizing that she was influenced. The beauty of this method was in the implementation and finesse of its execution in contrast to a brute force method like permanent hypnosis which was constantly active and able to be sensed or noticed if one knew what to look for. The method he used was the opposite with how subtly it influence's the targets thoughts, requires no extra energy to sustain it, nor can it be sensed or traced easily even by experts. In a matter of minutes even the dullness of her eyes and her almost machine like manner of speaking will be gone and no one would be able to tell what happened to her.

''… Marvelous, this stone is probably the best investment I ever did… second only to Shahnaz that is.''

The Zepar heir started to laugh in a hysteric fit, as this was just perfect once again relishing how everything was going his way. His mad laughter stopped suddenly, his hand gripping desperately on its opposite, trying to stop the violent shaking it was going through. His fingers were bending and contorting uncontrollably in every direction in angles and positions that would normally cause them to break.

He was hyperventilating, ragged breaths going in and out, the veins in his eyes becoming large and visible for all to see. It was only after a minute had passed that the sudden spasms started lessening.

His teeth were grinding against each other in annoyance, he didn't like what just happened, not one bit. He clicked his tongue as he quickly made his way to his cabinet and pulled out a bottle of wine, casting aside proper manners and decorum he started pouring it down his throat like a common drunkard. The cool wine went down hard and fast with him not even able to enjoy the taste. However he had other things to worry about at the moment, he was well aware that his body could become rather unstable whenever he pushed it too far but he didn't expect such a thing to happen so soon.

After going half way through the bottle he stopped and let out a tired breath, checking his arm, the spasms had ceased but the concern of another attack was still there. The first thing he would do when this was all over was give himself a proper checkup, there was definitely something wrong with him.

He shook his head and focused his mind back at the matters at hand, there were still things that needed taking care off. ''…Now my dear, after I rest up for a bit we can go and stop your peerage from ruining my base.''

* * *

The sounds of running could be heard through the dark corridors of the base. A door was forcefully opened and from it the woman that had previously shot Shirou's hands popped out. She instantly hid behind the door and looked behind checking for any potential pursuers.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, satisfied with herself that she managed to outrun the Sitri peerage. She was never so glad that she was turned into a Knight as much as she was right now.

While her running away from them might have seemed like a cowards move, she didn't have a choice at the moment. Long range fighters like herself needed large and open spaces in order to fight properly, and the staircase where she tried ambushing the Sitri group was right next to the corridors, fighting there would have put her in a big disadvantage, lacking proper vantage points and limiting her mobility. As such she had to retreat to the middle levels and wait for them in one of the open areas. Who knows maybe she could get lucky again and shoot the redhead again… though now after getting a better look at him, it was a shame he was an enemy. She found him quite the handsome specimen with his golden brown eyes, strong looks, and athletic body.

The things she would do to him, like take his head and shove in between her-

''[Eletha, come in!]'' Whatever fantasies the long eared woman was having were brutally interrupted when her Queen contacted her via a magic circle on her ear.

While she was feeling a bit awkward being caught daydreaming like this, the thing that was really putting her on the edge was what her superior was gonna say. ''Oh, hey there Shahnaz…''

''[What's going on down there, why aren't the others responding?!]'' the Zepar Queen demanded, the concern for her comrades visible in her voice.

''Weren't you watching the fights?'' Eletha scoffed slightly, knowing full well how her superior liked keeping an eye out on everything she could like some creepy stalker.

''[I was but one the Sitri bishops started blasting fire balls all over the room and struck my surveillance wards, I've been in the dark ever since. Now tell me what's going on down there and why aren't the others responding!?]''

Her burrows knitted in annoyance, she really hated how Shahnaz always overreacted to every little thing, and really things weren't that bad if you asked her. ''Well… thing is they all came down with a sudden case of getting their asses whooped.''

There was a heavy silence on the other side, but she clearly heard something crack. ''[… Care to repeat that?]''

''Yeah… I'm not sure myself about what happened but when I went back to check how things were going, I found them all down for the count.''

''[… This doesn't make any sense, they were all winning their fights, and their opponents were barely keeping up with them and… wait a second, why weren't you with them?]''

''I was initially, but things were looking pretty easy so I didn't stay to help out.'' She admitted, omitting the part about her going to get a bite to eat instead.

Eletha could clearly hear the sound of Shahnaz grinding her teeth. ''[… You do realize that because of your ignorance the others lost.]''

''Hey don't put the blame on me! It's their fault they lost not mine!'' she snapped at her queen, like she had any right to comment on her actions when she didn't even bother coming down and helping out herself.

Shahnaz wanted to just let go and start giving a lecture to the uncooperative member of the group, but calmed herself down, for she didn't have the time for this. ''[… Forget it, now is not the time. Return to the upper levels and be on standby. I will join you shortly and we will fight together.]''

Eletha opened her mouth to comment upon this but momentarily stopped herself, a condescending smile creeping on her face as a thought emerged. ''[… I'm sorry Shahnaz, but could you please repeat that, I couldn't quite make that out.''

''[What? Eletha what are you talking-]''

She cut her Queen off before she got the chance to finish. ''Sorry but I can't hear you very well, all I'm getting is static sounds. I will call you back later, bye.''

A gasp could be heard from the magic circle, Shahnaz realizing what Eletha was doing. ''[Eletha don't you dare hang up on-]''

She cut off the communication, clicking her tongue in annoyance, when it came to Shahnaz she just couldn't stand her. ''Stuck up bitch, just because she is our Queen and masters favorite she thinks I need her help to deal with some kids.''

Her devil wings manifested and she took flight, sitting herself on a balcony far away on the other side of the room.

''Speaking of which, they should drop by any moment.'' She raised her hand to the side and her jade bow manifested in it. Now that she had the proper fighting area, all she just needed was the right weapons. With a flick of her fingers dozens of arrows of different sizes, shapes, and designs manifested around her ready to be used at any time. ''I have to be sure and give them a proper entertainment.''

* * *

''So Shirou got any plans against that long eared bitch?'' Saji asked as we all made our way through the tunnels.

The moment that woman saw that her little surprise attack failed she instantly turned around and ran away from us. I for one didn't want to let her escape and tried to catch up to her, though as I expected she wasn't going to give me an easy time doing that. As soon as I started closing the gap she started shooting arrows at the walls surrounding me, the arrows then exploding on impact and blocked off the pathway. Even though it took just a couple of seconds for Tsubasa to punch her way through the impromptu wall, by the time that was done we lost all track of the enemy archer.

''Be on the guard at all times. There's no telling when she could pull another ambush on us.'' I explained as I peeked from the edge of a wall, scanning the next tunnel for any potential vantage points. The knowledge that she could snipe us at any moment was putting everyone on the edge, especially since she seemed to have a thing for doing surprise attacks.

''When it comes down to using a bow while it's quite fast and precise if used correctly, its weakness was the time it needed to nock an arrow, take aim, and shoot it. When we find her we must scatter around to confuse her, if we're all over the place she won't be able keep up with such a large number of targets. We must try to cover the distance between her and us, but we have to be careful for her arrows so try to be near anything that can act as cover if you find yourself unable to block or repel them.''

They all nodded as we shortly reached the end of the tunnel, I gestured to them to stand by. The new room was quite large as well as very similar to the one where we fought the first wave of enemies a bit ago.

The sound of steel cutting the air invaded my ear.

I instantly backed away and pushed everyone further back into the tunnel, no more than two seconds later an arrow pierced the wall where I previously stood, a strong electric discharge was released where the arrow stabbed into.

The wall crackled and blackened from the discharges intensity. If that thing had hit me it would have turned me into a charred piece of meat.

I reinforced my eyes and scanned the room from a distance, searching every nook and crevice for the enemy archer. After a second or so of looking around I found her positioned on a railing on the opposite side of the room, a condescending smile visible on her face.

''The others were such idiots. Why bother fight when we can just keep you at bay.'' She spoke arrogantly, loud enough for us to hear her from all the way down here. Not wasting any time she brought her bow up drawing another arrow from the many surrounding her, aimed, and focused on us.

''Momo, Reya, form a barrier around us quickly!'' I roared as the enemy released her arrow.

Fortunately the girls were fast enough to form their barriers right when the arrow was about to reach us. The sudden clash caused static shocks to fly everywhere.

When the light show was over I breathed in relief as the girls were able to block it without any problems. It was short lived however as soon after a new arrow clashed against the barrier, and this cycle kept repeating itself over and over again.

This was a rather annoying predicament we were in.

Reya and Momo may seem able to hold the barrier up together, but the enemy kept shooting arrows one after the other.

We're at a stale mate.

Her arrows may not reach us but that goes the same for us, while she keeps firing like that we can't advance either. This was a matter of endurance as it stood, either our barrier would get taken down or the enemy runs out of stamina.

At least, that would normally be the case… but this time it wasn't as another factor came into play.

Each clash between the barrier and the enemy's arrows were causing small aftershocks around the entrance of the tunnel chipping away at its structural integrity. If this went on the tunnel itself would cave in and bury us here.

I had to come up with a plan quick.

As I kept nagging my head for any possible solutions I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Tsubasa staring at me with curious look in her eyes. ''Say Shirou, you said we needed some cover to get close to her right?''

I nodded lightly at this. ''Yeah, but we don't have any close by.''

''Then let's make one!'' Tsubasa smirked as she made distance between herself and the rest of the group, turning to face one of the tunnel walls. She pulled her arms backwards and then violently jammed them in the wall, her fingers digging the stone wall. ''Tomoe!''

The mentioned knight stared at her friend for a few seconds, confused by what she wanted from her. Her eyes widened in realization as she understood what she had to do, she drew her sword and performed four deep cuts on the wall Tsubasa was gripping.

When Tomoe backed away Tsubasa let out a sharp hiss, the veins in her arms throbbing and bulging as she pulled back, and her well defined arms looked like they were about to rip through her shirt. When the giant chunk of wall was ripped away I realized what the blue haired rook was planning. I couldn't help but give her a nod of appreciation and a approving thumbs up. ''Good thinking.''

''Girls on my signal bring down the barrier.'' Both Reya and Momo nodded on my order. I waited for the right timing, memorizing the interval between each arrow.

Right after the enemy shot a new arrow I gave my signal to everyone. Tsubasa already knew what she had to do as she charged forward with the section of the wall in front of her. ''Follow Tsubasa!''

As the barrier went down right before the block of stone reached, arrows started raining down on it but it held firm, the sheer size and density of the block was proving a strong cover for all of us.

Everyone kept close to Tsubasa as she pushed it forward, now that we were out of the confines of the corridors we could come up with a way to stop the enemy archer.

I ran to the end of the impromptu cover and took a quick glance towards the enemy. She was very annoyed as she placed a new arrow in her bow, a different one compared to the others. ''Not enough.''

A quick structural grasp of the arrow made my hair stand on edge. I tried to call out to the others but it was too late, the arrow already hit the block and exploded on contact, everyone was sent flying in different directions from the shockwave.

I stumbled and rolled a couple of times but reinforced my hands and stabbed my fingers into the ground stopping myself but also allowing me to position myself. Apparently right on time as Tsubasa was about to crash into me, I managed to catch her by the waist and stop her as well though albeit barely as I nearly toppled over. The others on the other hand weren't so lucky and got scattered all across the room.

There wasn't much time to come up with a strategy even though the explosion caused a smoke screen to form around us. While I could see the others to some extent, I'm fairly certain the enemy wasn't able to see us.

I had to do something quick before it cleared up.

''Tsubasa are you okay?!'' I asked the girl that probably took most of the damage since her hands were connected to the block of stone when the explosion took place.

There was an annoyed scowl present on her face when I asked her this. ''That psycho bitch just used some bomb arrow on me! How do you think I feel!?''

Her unfriendly reaction aside, there were no visible wounds. At least she didn't get injured.

''So, any ideas?'' The bluenette asked me cautiously.

''None at the moment.'' I admitted bitterly, coming up with a proper plan on the fly wasn't easy you know.

''Dammit that elf bitch is really asking for it.'' Tsubasa growled as she punched the ground in frustration.

That was something that got my curiosity. ''Elf bitch?''

''Duh, didn't you see her ears, only they have ears long like that.'' She replied as she gestured to her ears. Now that she mentioned it the woman did indeed have very long and sharp ears. So that's what an elf looks like, it might have been interesting meeting her under different circumstances considering how popular elves were in modern media. Whenever I stepped into a book store I would always see an elf on a light novel cover, so it made one wonder on how a real one really is. Unfortunately, now wasn't such a good time to find out. ''That bow of hers is also a big pain the ass.''

''Quite…'' I mutter as I recalled the weapon she used, my eyes blinked a couple of times as I just realized something critical. ''Wait, that's it!''

Tsubasa was staring at me confused from my sudden outburst, but I focused on the matter at hand. The dust was still hanging above us so I couldn't see the enemy.

I had to do something about that.

I traced Kanshou in my hand as I took aim. I couldn't see the enemy so I had to find her with a different way. A deep breath escaped my lips as I reinforced my hearing, searching for her possible location as I took in the surroundings. It didn't go as I wanted since I kept hearing the breathing, grunting, and talking of the others scattered around room.

A smirk formed on my lips however as I soon heard a very familiar sound.

The sound of a bow string being pulled back.

My hand instantly reacted and threw Kanshou in the direction of the sound, clearing its way through the dust as it made its way towards the enemy. With a sharp hiss the blade burst out of the veil of dust, making the elf woman's eyes go wide as it quickly approached her. She didn't waste any time and changed her aim to the incoming blade, shooting her arrow at it, yet while it didn't destroy Kanshou the shot managed to deviate the trajectory so that it went away from her.

It didn't matter.

All I needed was a good look at her bow.

The pathway made by Kanshou gave me that opportunity.

Structural Grasping was done.

''The ability to create Demonic Arrows of different attributes according to the will of the user…'' I muttered as the information got processed in my mind, eyes slowly widening as I understood the nature of her weapon, her sacred gear to be exact. ''I see… so that's the **Jade Archery** sacred gear Ruruko thought I possessed.''

No wonder the pawn mistook my bow for the Jade Archery, its overall design is very similar my own, the only major difference being its color.

Information has been processed, history revealed and comprehended.

It was time to counter attack.

I raised my hand to my ear and channeled a little bit of prana to it, activating the communication spell placed on me by Reya. ''Everyone stay scattered around!''

''Wait, Shirou you said we need cover to get close to her.'' Momo protested on the line, something which I expected considering what my previous orders were.

My lips couldn't help but morph into a small smirk as the dust finally cleared. ''Change of plans, I have a better idea.''

The enemy had an arrow nocked in her bow and ready to strike, her eyes drifting around the battle ground for the first target to put down. Naturally her eyes landed on me, a deep annoyance was present on her features the moment our eyes met, she was clearly feeling pissed that she didn't get to take me out the last two times. Unfortunately for her, there won't be a third time.

'' **Trace On!** ''

Since I was dealing with a bow user, why not try and show my own archery skills?

There was clear confusion present in her eyes as I summoned my black bow and simply pointed it at her without any arrow set, instead my empty hand was positioned against the string as if I was grasping an imaginary arrow. My action sparked rage in her eyes, no doubt what I did was interpreted as a taunt by my enemy.

I could tell she wanted to hear me scream as she released her shot.

My reinforced eyes kept track of the arrow, the projection in my empty hand was complete. A swift pull and my arrow was unleashed towards the approaching one.

The two mirroring projectiles met and clashed. A stale mate created by the opposition of the very same existence. All that could follow was only a small explosion and the flabbergasted expression of the elven archer.

''W-what the!?'' The gasp that escaped her lips was showcasing the unbelievable amount of denial she was currently feeling. ''That was my arrow!''

Indeed it was.

It was quite simple to replicate, it didn't even begin to compare to the amount of strain tracing a noble phantasm put on my body, and compared to that her arrows were a walk in the park.

As long as she uses her bow against us I will trace any arrow she fires and cancel it out.

I sent some prana to the communication spell and turned it on, it was time to put things into action. ''Try to get close and take her out, I will cancel each of her shots with my own.''

''[Yes/Alright/Damn straight/Will do!]'' The collective responses were all I needed to hear.

It was also enough to get my opponent out of her shell shock state, ignoring me and trying to snipe the now approaching enemies.

She set her sight on Tsubaki and unleashed a **Blaze arrow** at her. I traced a copy and destroyed it before it could reach her.

My action caused the enemies features to darken, the sense of advantage she felt was slowly getting ripped away from her and instead replaced by a feeling of dread.

She instantly threw her arm to the side, multiple arrows began materializing around her. She took three of them carefully placed them in her bow, using a unique form and position with her fingers around the string that I never saw before. I studied Kyūdō during my days in the archery club, while the Japanese style was what I primarily learned, I also researched other forms of archery out of curiosity as well. Still among the various styles and techniques I never came across a style that allowed the user to shoot three arrows at the same time in such a way.

This was probably an elven style of archery.

A style I promptly imitated via through her traced arrows history.

The arrows were launched and I replied back with my own. Once again they exploded from the clash before they could even reach their target.

My action must have been some sort of trigger to the woman, the blood in her face drained away leaving it pale and her expression on her face morphed into despair. She seemed to have given completely into it and in a panic tried to rely on shooting arrows one after the other, each different from the previous one, a desperate attempt to get rid of the incoming enemies before they could reach her.

I was beginning to feel sorry for her.

Each arrow she shot was getting traced by me after it got recorded in my mind. In a sense she was making me stronger by doing this.

 **Gale arrow, Shredding arrow, Cascade arrow, Frostbite arrow, Shock arrow, Bomb arrow, Doppelganger arrow, Poison arrow, Shrapnel arrow, Smokescreen arrow, Diamond Arrow, Illusion arrow, Smog arrow** and the list kept on increasing.

With every exchange my repertoire of arrows increased as I continued cancel out her attacks with my own. With the risk of sounding arrogant, to an opponent that relies on weapons, I am their ultimate bane.

The skill and technique she honed that was developed over the course of many years, it was all revealed to me, analyzed, and assimilated in a matter of seconds.

Stealing and imitating what others dedicated their entire lives to accomplish.

A cruel and sad truth, however that was simply what I was.

 **A fake.**

The others drew in closer, the panic on her face kept increasing by the moment. It went on until she suddenly dropped her head down and gritted her teeth in frustration. ''Dammit.''

She placed three copies of her Smoke arrows in her bow and took aim. I took a moment and blinked confused as she was aiming her weapon at her own feet.

Just as Tsubaki-senpai was about to reach her she shot her arrows downwards, the area exploding in a giant cloud of smoke around herself.

She was trying to conceal herself!

''Tsubaki-senpai did you get her?'' I asked quickly using the communication line, with that smokescreen around her I couldn't spot her even with my reinforced sight. Meaning I couldn't counter any arrows until it was too late.

''[No, I almost had her, but all I managed to do was nick her arm slightly.]'' She reported coldly to me, no doubt the missed opportunity was making her feel bitter.

Dammit… she could be anywhere in that smokescreen, the more time we waste the more chances to regroup or take someone out she will have, there had to be some way to get rid of it.

I looked around and thought fast, my eyes landing on the two bishops. ''Reya, Momo, do you any of you know any wind based spells to get rid of the smoke?''

''[On it!]'' Momo acknowledged with a confident voice.

Moments later a powerful blast of air was sent at the epicenter of the smoke, exploding and scattering the dark veil clearing the area. As the last traces vanished I scanned the room for the enemy archer.

I spotted her on the railing on the opposite side of the room. Her face was grim and pale, beads of sweat dripping on her face as she stared at me. The thing that got my attention however was the smile on her face, she had little to smile at and yet she still did it anyway.

From her cloak she pulled a syringe with a glowing green substance in it, she eyed it for a couple of seconds until she let out a dry chuckle. ''Never thought I would test this thing out mid battle but it seems like I have no choice.''

She removed the cap on it and stabbed it in her left arm injecting the mysterious liquid. As the contents of the syringe were emptied into her bloodstream, the veins in her arm started growing and pulsing. An ear piercing shriek filled the room as she fell to her knees and grabbed her arm in pain.

''What is she doing?!'' I heard Saji ask in shock as he caught up to me, I honestly didn't know what to tell the blonde pawn as I was just as confused as he was.

That feeling was further solidified when the elf's arm suddenly bulked up and began contorting violently. The flesh on her arm was getting wrinkled and uneven, starting to somehow flow down towards her bow, spreading over it, and almost like it was trying to merge with it.

Her demonic aura flared and built up around her bow, concentrating in it as the flesh was attaching itself to it. With a final scream the aura stabilized, the mutation of the arm subsiding, displaying the final result. A grotesque abomination from what once were a soft arm and an impressive bow.

''H-Ha,ha…'' the enemy laughed with a strained voice, a side effect from all the screaming she previously did, her eyes were large and dilated as she raised her bow hand towards me. ''Try this on for size!''

Strips of flesh from her deformed arm peeled themselves backwards, throbbing and growing, morphing themselves into the two new arms interconnected with her bow fused arm. She drew the normal hand to the bow string and created nine arrows. In an unrefined display she drew back all the arrows and shot them simultaneously. ''Master was right! This drug truly upgrades my sacred gear.''

It didn't matter; even if the number of arrows increased I will still cancel them out.

I raised my own bow and structural grasped the arrows, beginning the tracing process-

 _Error. Error. Error. Error. Error. Error. Error. Error._

A sharp jolt ran through my head as I tried to trace the arrows, my eyes locked onto the incoming projectiles.

There was no time to cancel them out at this point.

To my own surprise the pain I felt was dull not sharp, and for some reason I found myself scattered on the floor. I looked at my leg and saw a familiar glowing cable. Before I could speak up the cable started retracting and pulling me back at a fast pace.

I got up and glanced at Saji as he glared at me. Even though he just saved me he didn't seem so happy about seeing me. ''Emiya what gives?! Why did you freeze up like that and didn't copy those like before?''

That was good question…

I scanned the room to where the new batch of arrows hit and tried to trace them again.

 _Error. Error._ _Error._ _Error._ _Error._ _Error._ _Error._ _Error._

To my own surprise it failed once again. ''I can't…''

''Why?'' He snapped at me, the concern quite noticeable in his voice. ''You didn't have any problem before!''

I lifted my hand and traced one of the earlier arrows, it appeared in my hand without any kind of problem. Something wasn't right… those new arrows had something that made them untraceable. I once again looked at them and further reinforced my eyesight to look for any missing details. The only thing different about them was the bits of flesh sticking out of them… wait… that wasn't my flesh, I didn't get hit by those. After eyeing the projectiles for a couple of more seconds I noticed something that shocked me, the bits of flesh were alive and attached to the arrows itself.

I realized what may have happened that led to all of this. ''I don't know what she injected herself with but she somehow turned her arm into some kind of pseudo chimera and it merged with her bow, her arrows now are living flesh.''

''So?''

''I can't trace living matter!'' I all but snapped at him, projection only worked on inanimate objects, otherwise it wouldn't have been a useless spell by a magus point of view, even if it were to just temporarily create living matter out of prana it would still be a very useful ability, especially in the healing arts.

''Dammit! '' I clicked my teeth as I grabbed Saji by the shirt and pulled him down, narrowly dodging three arrows. I called my bow and started tracing and shooting the arrows I recorded earlier towards the new organic ones. My eyes narrowed as they got destroyed on impact yet the enemy arrows were still in one piece. It seemed that these chimera arrows were also stronger than her earlier ones. This wouldn't do, I had to change my strategy.

''Everyone group up! With how things currently are staying scattered won't do any good!'' I ordered to the group. With how the arrows were now it would be impossible for me to keep up.

I traced arrows once again and overloaded them with prana, making them broken versions, with no time to waste I shot them at arrows directed at the others trying to regroup. It wasn't enough to get rid of all of them but I at least managed to destroy the vital ones.

Due to how many arrows the enemy was shooting at the same it was difficult for me to properly counter all of them.

When the others arrived they started putting out defensive measures. Momo, Reya and Tsubaki-senpai formed a magic barrier while Tsubasa ripped two slabs of the floor and placed them in front of us as extra protection. Ruruko was helping Tomoe patch up Saji's arm, one of the arrows cut his arm quite deep and he was bleeding fast.

This barricade wouldn't last for long and I had to come up with something. The slabs immediately started cracking; the arrows will soon start hitting the barrier. Through the cracks I saw something that put me on the edge, the arrows weren't simply breaking their way to us, no, they were literally eating their way towards us. Earlier before the arrows had just flesh parts coming out of them, now the arrow heads somehow mutated into various animal heads.

This was bad, real bad.

The substance she injected herself with must be causing mutations to take place in both her body and her sacred gear. At this rate there's no telling what she may turn into if left alone.

What to do…?

There are far too many arrows for me to cancel out and the current weapons I can project aren't going to do me any good in this situation.

Dammit…

I was well aware that I have only two or three chances left and I shouldn't use them recklessly but I can't think of anything else.

I will have to endure the pain once again.

 _Search start._

Protection… I need strong protection to help us cover the distance and reach the enemy.

 _Searching…_

Not for me specifically, it has to be something that could protect the others while they go after her.

 _Searching…_

Something that could protect all of them… regardless of how far I was.

 _Match found._

 _The wall that protected the brave soldiers of Rome._

'' **Trace On!** ''

I felt the blood boil in my veins as the new noble phantasm was getting traced as I tried to endure the pain. My body on the other hand wasn't doing that well as blood began leaking from my left eye as the weapon took form. It manifested and wrapped itself around my arm, rusty red in color and lined in gold. It was an oval roman shield arched inwards on both sides. Twelve stars were placed on it, six on the upper half and six on the lower one, each star having four points. Within the very center of the shield was a star much larger than the others, within it the symbol of Mars was glowing proudly.

I planted my leg firmly on the ground, trying my best not to stumble from the backlash that will soon follow. The others were focused on me, curiosity to what I was planning to do. ''Listen carefully, when that barrier breaks charge forward and whatever you do don't stop.''

There was obvious confusion in their eyes, but the sound of the barrier cracking took away any time for me to further explain. With a final crack the barrier shattered and the mutated arrows started raining down on us once again.

I dashed forward and put myself between the incoming arrows and the rest of the group, shield up and ready to intercept.

As the arrows started clashing against the shield I gritted my teeth, while it may be able to block the arrows I still felt the impact. I had to put things in motion right away. ''Now!''

On my command everyone scattered in different directions and charged straight towards the enemy bow user. She noticed this and started preparing a new volley of arrows to fire, I had one shot to make this work and I wasn't going to waste it.

Truth be told I had no idea what kind of backlash this will have, but this was the only solution I could come up with.

It was time that I tapped within a noble phantasms true power.

'' **Scatter and protect the Eternal City!** '' I chanted raising the shield in the air, the symbol in the center glowing brightly in azure light. ' **'Ancile!** ''

The feeling of having hot rods of iron shoved in my body surged through me, my prana was also getting drained at an alarming rate but I pushed on.

The light died down and the power of Ancile now surrounded my body in the form eleven identical shields. The only noticeable difference was that the copies lacked the jewel in the middle star.

Fighting the intense pain my body was feeling I scanned every arrow that was shot, visualizing every trajectory and target.

Everything was set.

I raised my main shield and focused.

Two arrows at Tsubaki-senpai. One at Reya. One at Momo. One Saji. One at Ruruko. One at Tomoe. Two at Tsubasa.

Ancile flashed as I relayed the command, the copies responded and flew forward at their respective destination. The arrows were just about to hit their targets, explosions took place all over the room, when the smoke cleared all targets were unharmed, and a shield hanged in the air right in front of them.

Everyone was shocked by this sudden turn of events, Tsubasa asked the question that was on everyone's mind. ''Shirou what the hell is that?!''

''No time!'' I shouted, keeping my focus on controlling the shields. ''Go get her!''

Not wasting any more time they started advancing once again, the enemy archer noticing this tried desperately to stop them but each arrow she shot was being intercepted by my shields. The terror was quickly building up in her with every step closer the others got to her. ''No! Stay back!''

My eyes were shifting in every direction, eyesight reinforced and focused, my shields dancing in the air blocking and deflecting every shot directed at my comrades.

Arrows kept rushing relentlessly, the despair in the user could be noticed as her aim was slowly deteriorating. It all went on until she suddenly stopped, widened eyes slowly drifting at her bow arm, pupils dilating as they saw the cable wrapped around her arm, pinning it down, a smirk forming on Saji's lips as he immobilized the enemy. ''How about you stick around a while?''

''Tsubasa!'' Tomoe shouted at the bluenette as she was quickly approaching. ''Blast me at her!''

A smirk formed on the rook's lips as she understood what her friend was planning. ''Yes!''

When Tomoe reached her she jumped in the air, Tsubasa grabbing her by the back of her shirt quickly twisted around on her heel once and launched the teams knight at the enemy.

Tomoe used her wings to glide herself in the air, drawing Juuichi Yosamu and preparing to strike. The enemy upon witnessing this went into a complete state of hysteria, jabbing the tips of her arrows in Vritra's lines in desperation but unable to break through them.

A splatter like sound filled the room as Tomoe rushed past the enemy archer, a scream of unimaginable pain followed soon after, blood gushing violently as her mutated arm was cut off from the shoulder down.

The enemy wasn't restrained anymore but the pain was overshadowing any other thought she may have had, making her lose the unique chance to run away. She had a chance but wasn't able to take it, Tsubaki-senpai had reached over and hit her in the back with the blunt edge of Houtegageki.

The strike sent her flying into a nearby wall, bones shattering on the impact, and her body dropping on the floor. There was no movement from her, the others already assumed it was over and started to breathe in ease.

I wasn't that hasty to make assumptions.

Eyesight reinforced and fixed on her form, I scanned her carefully, she may have been down for the count but you could never be certain. There was a slow shift under her cloak; a small crystal like amulet was slowly pulled out. I quickly structural grasped it to see what it was.

 _Shit!_

''Stop her! Don't let her user it!'' I tried to call out to the others but it was already too late, she had already shattered it.

A teleportation crystal.

A bright light flashed around her, the others assumed it was something else and quickly backed away. ''I-If she feared using this damn pawn so much… Then I might as well see what all the fuss was about!''

The light slowly died out and next to the fallen archer there was a man standing. He was around my age and had bright orange hair with matching eyes, his body was covered in some kind of paper talismans in a language that I didn't recognize, but the most out of place aspect was the look in his eyes. They were blank and flat as he gazed around the room. The man was here, but he seemed like he wasn't mentally aware of where he was or what was going on.

''Kill them!'' The archer ordered, the boy nodding sluggishly as he slowly turned around and raised his arm, a golden battle axe manifesting in it.

Chills ran down on my back as I saw it, and I didn't even use structural grasp on it.

The boy leaped towards us aiming his axe at Tomoe. Fortunately, his speed wasn't on the same level as our team's knight and she was able to easily dodge the blow.

When the axe was brought down it began glowing in dim golden light as it struck the ground.

The whole room shook violently.

The ground where it hit fractured and actually split in two, a deep ravine forming beneath the blade of the axe. I almost toppled from the quake that spread along the room; the others however weren't so lucky and fell down from the sudden shaking of the ground.

This was bad! One strike from that could split one in two if it landed a directly!

I had to stop it.

Straightening myself I dashed towards him and threw my arms to the side and started projecting.

''Gah!'' My body suddenly started convulsing violently, my sense of direction ruined, and I fell to the ground unable to control the sudden spasms.

''Shirou!'' Momo somehow managed to reach by side and held me in one spot. I could feel her trying to heal me, and by her distraught reaction she wasn't enjoying what she was seeing. ''I don't get it… there is no wound. Why isn't it stopping?!''

I wished I knew what to tell her, the only thing I could do was grit my teeth and try to calm myself. The spasms were reducing somewhat but my body felt like someone shoved red piping coals down my throat. ''S-Something isn't right…''

'' _ **Do you think even once before taking action?''**_ Archer remarked with clear irritation present in his voice, the kind that made me imagine he would smack me up on the head if he could. _**''Invoking a noble phantasms name like that… even if it's a weak one, that kind of power output is even more dangerous than projecting multiple noble phantasms at the same and to top it all of it just had to be a shield of all things.''**_

It was after I processed this that I realized what happened to me. Sella did warm me about the true nature of noble phantasms, their full power and abilities usually get invoked when the user calls forth their true name. I never attempted to do something like this before, probably because the weapons that I had traced up to this point had powers passive in nature, not requiring their true name to use them.

My body was already under a lot of strain from those multiple projections I did earlier, by invoking Ancile's true name on top of tracing it, I further shot myself in the foot.

In my current state I don't know how many projections my body can handle before it totally gives up on me.

''Haa!'' I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't notice the approaching enemy. The only reason I wasn't hit by his axe was because Momo grabbed on to me and pulled both of us aside.

The room once again shook as the golden axe split the ground.

I gritted my teeth and shook my head, there was no time to even catch my breath. The enemy turned its blank eyes towards me, it was obvious that he wasn't truly aware of what was going on, but the sneer on his face when he stared at me was making me feel like there was still an subconscious instinct driving him, one that was telling him that I'm a danger that must be eliminated.

He leaped at us and brought his weapon from an upward arc, the desire to crush me was oozing from the weapon. Before I could think of a proper counter I pushed Momo away, not wanting her to get caught in the crossfire.

There wasn't any time left for me to retreat however, all I could do was narrowly dodge the next strike. The impact even though it didn't land directly still affected me, the sheer force of the shock wave created by the attack made me lose my footing and stumble down. In an attempt to keep myself up I desperately tried to grab on whatever I could find to sustain myself. The only thing that was in my reach was the handle of the enemies axe.

That was a mistake.

The moment my fingers came into contact with the enemy's weapon something deep within me seemed to resonate violently.

I didn't know what happened but in the very next moment my vision went white.

* * *

What's going on here?

Before I knew what had happened I woke up in a different location. I took a look around and didn't have the slightest clue to where this was. In the distance there was nothing but an endless void of darkness so I couldn't find anything to point out where I am.

I scanned my surroundings carefully and the only thing I could compare this place to was a graveyard of some sorts. I counted around and there were twelve monuments placed around in a large circle, with an additional one placed in the very center of the circle.

The reason I called it a graveyard was due to how all of the monuments were broken beyond recognition, victims to the ravages of time or the plundering of those who didn't have any respect for the dead. A light suddenly manifested behind me, my shadow extending far away. I turned around and gazed at the source, a monument like the many others was before me. Curiously the light around it seemed to intensify as the broken fragments on the floor started to glow similarly and slowly began floating upwards, reuniting little by little, and reconstructing the broken monument. With each piece added the monument started to turn recognizable again. Finally the last piece returned and the light shined brightly, the cracks within the monument disappearing, and revealing the monument in its former glory with it depicting the image of majestic lion holding a battle axe in its mouth.

Even though logic dictated I shouldn't touch anything around me until I figured out where I was, there was something in me that was pulling me closer to the monument, my hand slowly reaching and grasping it.

That was when my mind felt like it was getting ripped apart.

So many images, sounds, scents, and feelings flashed through my mind with me unable to discern them apart from one another.

It all eventually ended when my mind blacked out.

* * *

 _He stood alone…_

 _He couldn't remember how long ago he gained awareness or how he even came into existence._

 _Nothing but the dark and empty void surrounded him._

 _All he knew was that he existed, nothing more, nothing less._

 _There was nothing else for him besides simply existing._

 _No reason, no duty, no desire, nothing._

 _A rather sad existence… that was the conclusions he reached after so many eons of solitude._

 _If that was the case… then he shall create a reason for his existence._

'' _Let there be light.''_

* * *

A desperate gasp for air was all that came out of my mouth the moment my eyes snapped open. Bullets of sweat were running down my face as I tried to makes heads or tails of what I just saw. The whole monument thing aside, what was that vision at the end?

There was literally nothing, just an empty voice, and everything was engulfed in a brilliant light before the vision ended. Those whispers that I heard… it was like a mixture of different voices overlaid on each other, those of a man, woman, and child.

That wasn't normal.

Was that vision tied to the enemy's sacred gear?

That was impossible… I didn't even attempt to structural grasp it; somehow I was forced into performing it… but by whom?

Even so, the last vision wasn't something that I ever encountered while structural grasping other objects, even when I used it on Saji's sacred gear, while it did show me more than anything I ever structurally grasped before, it wasn't on this level.

There was something special about that sacred gear… and now that I realize just what it is and what it does, the situation turned even grimmer than before.

That man was a ticking time bomb.

After a quick scan around the room I saw the others engaging him, using long range blasts and attacks to keep him and his dangerous axe at bay. Someone must have pushed me aside when I blacked out and they started ganging up on him.

The idea wasn't bad, but only under the condition that they ended things immediately.

''Guys we have to stop him before it's too late!'' I shouted as I tried getting up from the rubble, while my mind was still spinning from my recent mental trip I went through, at the very least my body got enough time to recover and calm down a bit.

Perhaps the noise was muffling my voice since no one seemed to register me, instead they all focused on the enemy at hand, which appeared to be getting more and more agitated, his demonic energy flaring and fluctuating violently around himself as he tried to defend. For the first time he opened his mouth and spoke. ''I… I d-don't feel so well.''

''N-No!'' He growled as his eyes seemed to get more life into them, like he was suddenly awakening from a deep slumber and was finally realizing what was happening around him, fear, confusion, and despair quickly showing on his face. ''Don't! Leave me alone!''

The others didn't heed any of his words and just went on with their assaults. This only made his energy to go even wilder, his negative emotions completely ruining any control he had over his power.

As the attacks kept hitting the light around his axe kept shifting and pulsing like a raging heartbeat. Before I could even speak cracks began forming on the axe, quickly spreading all over it.

Oh no!

''Everyone, retreat now!'' I shouted violently, reinforcing my vocal chords in order to produce a stronger result, which worked as everyone instantly backed away, right before the enemy exploded in golden demonic energy, ripples scattering all over the room.

''AHHH!'' the enemy kept screaming in pain as his body began contorting, growing, and morphing. Out of despair to make the pain stop the man began bashing his head violently against the floor, not caring about the pain and injuries he was inflicting upon himself. ''RAHHHH!''

The human screams had come to an end, what took their place were the haggard roars of a beast.

A final explosion of aura took place around the man's body, obstructing our view of him for a couple of seconds. As the light died down a lump of air got stuck in my throat as I stared at the beast the man had turned into.

Fear and awe were mixing together as I gazed upon it visage, that of a glorious golden lion. If it's gold like fur wasn't eye-catching enough, it sheer size was also imposing, probably five meters tall. A single jewel was embedded within the center of its head.

The mighty beast turned its head towards the female archer, the latter who was staring in disbelief, a desperate wish that what she was seeing wasn't real. ''H-How could you try to cage such a beast master Segrif?''

There a noticeable reaction from the lion upon hearing the name of the Zepar heir. Golden eyes turned red in rage as it pounced upon the elf.

''Gahhhh!'' There wasn't any time to react or even comprehend what was going on for the enemy, before she knew it she was staring down at the golden claw piercing through her chest. The lion pulled its paw away and it's prey hit the ground with a loud thud, the ruined internal organs spilling out of the giant puncture wounds, blood and gore surrounding the now dead body.

''I-It killed her…'' I heard Ruruko mutter in fear at the gruesome display of the lion.

''Its own ally.'' Momo remarked equally shocked as our team pawn.

I glance down at my hands and clicked my teeth as I saw how they were trembling. Perhaps knowing exactly what we are facing wasn't a such a good thing at the moment, that information made me know what I was dealing with and my body couldn't help but feel on the edge knowing what sort of danger we're in. ''Guys, right now we aren't facing a regular foe, but a rampaging beast.''

The lion turned its attention to us, eyes filled with rage and bloodlust, the killing of one of the people that wronged its previous host didn't quell its desire for destruction not one bit.

No, it wasn't just enraged by Segrif and his peerage, the true source of its seething rage was towards the imprisonment it suffered for so many centuries within its sacred gear.

For being turned into the Regulus Nemea sacred gear, one of the thirteen Longinus.

''Gaoooooo!'' the Nemean lion roared in anger as it was finally set free of its prison.

And it was out for blood.

With a thunderous roar and lightning like leap it rushed to us, the others not being able to keep up with its speed I had to make immediate counter measures. The lion was aiming for Tsubaki-senpai so I activated the powers of Ancile and placed six of the shields in front of her, right in time to block the incoming claw strike. The sparks and sound of the shield breaking apart caused everyone to turn their heads towards the sources, eyes dilating in shock and fear.

The shields weren't able to block the strike, the beast's claws shredding through them like a hot knife through butter, but at the very least it was able to deviate the path of the attack, from dead on to merely grazing Tsubaki-senpai. The slight change from the strike ripping the shields let the team's queen to somehow react and back away narrowly avoiding the claw that would have ripped into her.

In panic or fear the group's two bishops began blasting it with magical spheres while Tsubasa was yanking and throwing huge pieces of debris at it. While this assault was taking place Tomoe rushed over to Tsubaki and quickly pulled her out of the fire zone.

Ruruko went to where Tomoe took cover and ripped a piece of her skirt, tying it around Tsubaki-senpais arm as the previous encounter with the lion left a deep gash on her left arm. The scary part was that the lion's claw didn't even make contact with her, the sheer air pressure generated by its strength was enough to injure her like this. If its claw would have made even slight contact it would have probably severed her arm on the spot.

I took a step forward to rush and help them but my vision suddenly went blurry, dizziness taking me over as I stumbled forward. To my surprise I didn't hit the ground and when I looked at my left side I understood why as I saw Saji holding on to me.

The look on his face was one shared by the others at the moment, pure fear. ''Hey Emiya… be honest with me… what our chances of escaping that thing?''

That was a question that showed how desperate the situation was. Saji wasn't asking how to beat it, as he probably realized that it was impossible in our current condition.

The noise of the assault ceased, the two bishops and our rook haggardly gasped for air, the first two from magical exertion while the latter from physical one. There was a dead silence in the room, everyone starring nervously at the cloud of smoke where the lion got bombarded.

I could feel each sweat drop run down my body, the tension was so thick that I could cut it with a knife. Each single second I spent staring at the pillar of smoke felt like hours.

In an attempt to get the edge out of my system I traced a pair of my twin blades and threw them at the smoke in spite of the pain it caused me.

 _Clank!_

My eyes went wide as the two blades bounced out of the smoke, as if they hit something that they couldn't lodge themselves in, let alone cut through. Akin to throwing a coin at a stone wall and hoping it would leave a crack.

There was a pair of glowing lights that ignited within the smoke, my blood ran cold as a beastly roar was unleashed once again causing the smoke to scatter and revealing the beast and its current condition.

Not even a scratch.

All of those attacks weren't even able to nick away a piece of its fur.

It was said that the Nemean Lion from the Greek myth was a beast with a hide that couldn't be pierced by any weapon and that it took the mighty Herakles to wrestle it and choke it to death to finally put it down. If this lion was even a fraction like the one from legend then there is no doubt.

We can't beat it… I doubt that anything I can project at the moment can get past its golden hide.

There was only one solution I could think of…

I pulled myself away from Saji and straightened myself, taking in a deep breath in.

There wasn't anything else I could do.

''Saji, I will keep it busy, take the others and go save Sona.'' I told my fellow pawn in a heavy tone, my hands twitching in fear as the beast was scanning the room, pondering over which prey he should go after.

Before I could step forward I felt a strong grip on my shoulder, when I turned around Saji was glaring daggers at me. ''Don't fuck with me you reckless bastard! You expect us to just let you fight that thing alone?!''

''We don't have a choice!'' I snarled at my fellow pawn. ''In our current state we can't beat it, the least that can be done is for someone to keep it busy while others escape. I'm not planning to fight it all the way through, the moment everyone is out of danger I will fall back and catch up to you guys.''

The way the blond pawn was gritting his teeth was showcasing how much he was unsatisfied with my answer. The complaining however didn't get to be addressed as I felt the sudden tingling from the communication spell placed on me.

''Saji, Shirou dodge!'' upon hearing Tsubaki-senpai's desperate shout my eyes went wide and focused at the lion, the sneer it was showing and the glare was revealing who were its new targets.

''Gaooo!'' The lion let out an enraged roar as it lodged at us.

 _Boom!_

There was an explosion that came from one of the side walls, the force of it instantly reached the lion and sent it crashing at a nearby wall, making it breakthrough it, and couple of more walls behind it.

An awkward silence filled the room, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of debris falling down on the floor.

''What the fuck was that?'' Saji's question was probably what went through everyone's head at the moment. I myself was just as shocked as he was.

I looked at the wall from where the explosion came from, while there still was a lot of smoke surrounding the opening, there was a particular thing that got my attention. There weren't any burnt or melted parts around the edges of the opening that you would normally see from a regular explosion. From what I could tell, the explosion seemed to be caused by a powerful impact, but I don't know of any method of creating an impact of this scale considering that the sheer force behind it also sent two-three tone lion flying like it a paper doll.

I narrowed my eyes as I heard footsteps coming from the hole, a silhouette became noticeable within the smoke. ''I was wondering what was causing such a ruckus, but imagine my surprise finding a secret hideout and if that wasn't enough here we have a bunch of devils here fighting a legendary beast.''

From the smoke a tall man emerged, sporting black hair and a pair of vibrant violet eyes. He was probably a couple of years older than me judging by his features, but what caught my eye was his body. His clothes weren't flashy or skin tight by any means but I could tell that this man had an extremely solid and muscular physique underneath them. The kind of muscles that you normally wouldn't see on one his age, the kind of muscles one couldn't get without years of constant training.

His overall demeanor appeared relaxed and a hint of curiosity was in his eyes as they scanned the room, trying to discern what was going on here.

I heard a gasp come from our teams Queen, when I turned to look at her I noticed the awestruck look she had. ''Sairaorg Bael?!''

''Hmm?'' the man looked over to the long haired girl and curiously tilted his head. ''Wait, aren't you Sona's Queen, Shinra Tsubaki was it?''

Wait… Sairaorg Bael… I think Sona mentioned him once… oh right, she said that he was the strongest devil in her generation, but also the one she holds most respects towards.

''W-What are you doing here?'' Tsubaki-senpai with a perplexed voice asked the very question that was going on through my mind.

''These waste lands are on the borderline between the Zepar and Bael territories. I always come out here to train since I tend to break stuff in closed quarters.'' He explained casually to us as he crossed his arms. ''In fact I was in the middle of my training session when I suddenly saw a huge wave of demonic energy burst out of the sands. When I went to check it out I found a hole that lead all the way down here into this place.''

Wave of demonic energy?

Ohh, he must be referring to what Tomoe did when she used the Senkyouka against that Sasha guy, the attack did end up breaking its way up to the surface. Well it does confirm this guy's story but it doesn't exactly make things all fine and dandy.

The roar of the Nemean lion echoed through the room as the golden beast slowly stalked towards us, this time its source of anger directed at the newcomer that sent him crashing through the walls.

Sairaorg was momentarily surprised by the lion, silently whistling as he unfolded his arms. ''Seems like you have quite the situation on your hands. Mind filling me in about what's going on?''

As everyone grouped up near me Tsubaki-senpai went on to answer the Bael devil. ''Segrif Zepar abducted us and is keeping our master Sona at the upper levels, we are fighting to rescue her.''

The man simply gave a gruff nod. ''Segrif you say… should have expected him pulling something like this sooner or later, that man always was giving me the wrong vibes.''

As the lion approached Sairaorg narrowed his eyes at the beast, shortly changing his focus at us, focusing on the wounds each of us currently had. After a couple of seconds of pondering he let out a soft sigh. ''I can see you had a rough time till this point.''

''Sorry to break it to you but in your current conditions fighting this beast is outright suicidal.'' He stated as he walked past us and with a swift motion he took off his shirt and threw it in the air. The very moment the piece of fabric touched the ground a loud crash was heard, there right in front of us the Bael devil was pinning the lion in place with nothing but brute strength, his veins in his sculpted arms were throbbing violently as they were wrapped around the lion's neck like a vice. ''So how about you leave this to me and you all move on?''

Tsubaki-senpai was somewhat able to pick her dropped jaw back up and trying to collect herself to answer, sadly the others weren't faring any better considering that what the man did was the equivalent of a regular human stopping a raging bull with nothing but his bare hands, I was also equally dumbfounded by what I just saw. ''… Do you think you can win against it?''

''That's a good question.'' he grunted as his arms tightened around the beast, jamming his shoulder right up its chin to keep it from trying to bite him. ''Whether I can do it or not doesn't matter, I will take this challenge head on!''

The electrifying voice of the man certainly was able to put everyone at ease, Tsubaki-senpai nodding and calling all of us to move out. As everyone was making their way out of the room to let the Bael heir go wild I stopped mid-way through and stared at him. This action was noticed by the man and he decided to see what was still keeping me here. ''Got something to say friend?''

There were many things I wanted to say, but they weren't meant for him, no, they were meant for me since I was letting someone else clean up my mess.

 _It left a deep bitter taste in my mouth._

I shook my head and tried to focus back at the situation at hand, as much as I want to stay back and help him out in my current condition I would probably be more of distraction than genuine help and there's no telling what other opponents there are still left. I couldn't let the others fight alone.

Being forced to choose between which people to help… was truly sickening.

I grit my teeth and gave a light bow to the man. There wasn't much I could do at the moment; the least I could do was cheer on for his victory. ''Good luck!''

''You've got some nice eyes there, sharp and strong.'' He laughed through his teeth, clearly having a hard time keeping the beast at bay. ''What's your name Devil of Sitri?''

''… Emiya Shirou.''

The smile he gave me was genuine, albeit a little strained since he was busy pinning the lion. ''Pleased to meet you. When this is over let's sit down and have a proper chat.''

''… I will make tea.'' I replied as I left the room, soon after I did I felt two great power sources ignite behind me and waves of tremors were unleashed.

It wasn't something I wanted but I have to leave that beast to Sairaorg Bael.

* * *

The air around us was slowly getting warmer as we made our way to the upper levels, and getting closer to the surface area. The temperature aside I had a hard time breathing properly, my lungs felt like they had stoves in them, and each time I breathed in and out I felt like I turned them on and off.

I was probably the most physically fit out of all the members of the team and yet I was the one falling behind. Trying to keep up with them while conserving whatever prana I had left was proving a real challenge especially since my body felt like it could fall apart if I made a single misstep.

''Aghh!'' a jolt of pain ran through my chest as I was turning around the corner, making me stumble down and almost bashing my head against the wall.

''Shirou!'' Upon my sudden fall everyone stopped and turned back to check on my condition. Reya helped lay me against the wall, lightly slapping my checks to help me get rid of the dizziness. ''Please hang in there.''

I tried to calm myself, taking slow breathes to ease the burn. ''I'm fine… just starting to feel the backlash from overdoing things.''

''Can you still go on?'' Momo asked as she wiped the sweat away from my face.

''I'll be fine…'' I muttered haggardly as I tried to lift myself up but my trembling legs were refusing to do as I wanted. To my luck Saji grabbed onto me and helped me stand up.

Judging by the looks everyone had they weren't sure of what they should do. The only one that wasn't matching the group in their concern was Saji that looked more irritated than confused. ''You guys go on ahead, we'll catch up right away.''

''You sure about that Saji-senpai?'' Ruruko asked of her fellow pawn.

This suggestion from Saji really didn't stand well with me. ''Saji we don't have time to waste and-''

''Shut up!'' he snapped and head-butted me, making see stars for a second. ''I'm not in the mood for breaks either but we can't have you passing out on us now!''

I opened my mouth to comment but stopped myself as I realized that he was right. We are so close to saving Sona and I can't afford to pass out now. If I stay put for too long I probably won't be able to go on anymore but if I don't take a break to catch my breath and calm myself I won't last either.

Just for a bit… just a little too cool my sizzling insides.

I could only hope that nothing happens in the meantime.

''… Sorry for being a bother.'' I sighed in resignation, letting the others know to go on.

My pessimist way of answering only got me a glare from Tsubasa. ''Suck it up already will you, nobody's perfect.''

The others chuckled briefly for a moment before the turned heel and started advancing once again. The last one to leave was the groups Queen, her mismatched eyes staring into mine, bitter concern present on her face.

''Saji, take care of him, okay?'' Tsubaki-senpai said as she followed.

Saji only scoffed at this. ''It's the least I can do.''

''Try not to get lost!'' Both Saji and I sighed at Tomoe's shouting.

No words were shared between us, the silence kept on hanging above us until everyone else was out of hearing. It was at that time Saji narrowed his eyes at me and spoke. ''You can act tough all you want but unlike the girls I can recognize when a guy is acting tough and pretending everything is under control. You really aren't doing that good are you?''

My eyes stared in surprise at the man keeping me from falling. It seems I underestimated him, he was sharper that he let on.

''I'm not sure, my body is running on fumes at the moment.'' I chuckled bitterly, my gaze shifting towards my free hand, clenching it a couple of times, yet the slight trembling didn't cease. ''I have no idea how long I will last, that being said we have to reach our master before I completely black out.''

This bit of information made the blonde pawn click his teeth in irritation. ''You're overdoing things.''

''I have no choice.''

 _Bam!_

My eyes drifted at the wall that Saji punched in frustration, pieces of the cracked surface sticking to his fist as he pulled it back. ''You're not the only one that has to solve everything! We can fight even without your help!''

So that was how it is… can't really say I don't understand where he is coming from. I could sugar coat it to make things easier to handle, but as things are I'm sure that would only make him angrier.

''Saji, stop lying to yourself.'' I sighed bitterly, knowing that the truth was only adding more salt to the wound that was this man's pride. ''If I didn't offer you and the others support earlier you would have all lost, and in the worst case even died.''

My hand reached for my eyes and gently rubbed them, trying to get the stinging feeling out of them.

''I heard that everyone has went on stray devil hunts long before I joined, but it was just putting down mindless monsters, it can't even begin to compare to our current situation.'' My hand slid down, letting me make eye contact with my comrade. ''You must realize that this whole thing is way over our heads and the only reason we reached this far is mostly dumb luck.''

This set the Sitri devil over the edge and yanked me by the shirt, I could see the desire to punch me in his eyes, he pulled his arm back and glared at me, yet his fist never came. It just kept hanging in the air for a few brief moments before he let down and averted his eyes in shame.

''… I know dammit and I feel like shit since I can't do anything without help, and I'm dead sure the others must feel the same way.'' He admitted bitterly, like a child admitting to his parents that he was caught stealing. ''You think you're being useless? Try getting your ass saved by someone else sometime to see how it feels.''

I didn't comment upon this, hoping the day others suffer for my sake never comes.

After about a minute of silence I took a deep breath and exhaled in ease, the burning sensation having reduced to more bearable levels. ''That's enough for me, let's get going.''

He nodded silently as he let go and made way for me. As I went running I heard Saji mutter under his breath. ''Try not to go dying on me.''

* * *

Saji and I were rushing through the tunnels trying to catch up to the others while also trying to keep an eye out for any other enemy attacks. My little break took about three minutes so the others shouldn't be that far up ahead.

We reached a new room and the moment my eyes took notice of what was inside I felt my blood boil in my veins.

''Guys!'' Saji was of similar emotional state.

Everyone was scattered across the room, each sporting several thin cuts on their bodies and bleeding profoundly from them. They were all at the brink of exhaustion by how haggardly they were breathing.

All of this while only a single person was sitting in the middle of the room without as much of a scratch on her person.

It was Shahnaz, the woman that accompanied Segrif the first time we met.

Our sudden appearance was noticed by our comrades, Momo was first one to speak, failing to keep her left eye open from the blood dripping down due to the cut above it. ''Shirou, Saji… watch out… that woman is dangerous… we couldn't even lay a finger on her.''

The woman also took notice of us but didn't seem bothered by it, rather she seemed eerily calm about everything.

''It seems like everyone is now here.'' She remarked with a slight nod, her eyes gazing hopefully towards us. ''I guess you wouldn't be willing to put an end to all of this fighting would you?''

While the sizzling rage in me was telling me to stop wasting time, my mind was struggling to keep my emotions in check and try to solve the situation in the least dangerous way possible. ''I ask you, would you stop if you were in our shoes?''

Her black eyes faltered and avoided eye contact with mine, an attempt to hide the shame she felt. ''No, I wouldn't, but I think too much blood has been spilled already. If anything I would like to solve this peacefully.''

Saji's rage skyrocketed at this remark. ''Your asshole of a King abducted us and our master! We almost got killed at the hands of your crazy comrades! You just beat everyone up to a bloody pulp! And worst of all Tsubaki-senpai almost got raped by one of your goons! I can't believe you have the nerve to ask for a peaceful resolution!''

I would have expected acting ignorant, gloating at our misery, or at the very least indifference. The woman's eyes showed none of that, they only showed disgust, at what was caused by her own side.

''I wish I could refute you but most of what you said is true.'' Shahnaz admitted in shame, her black eyes narrowing at us.

''Everything is just one big idiotic move on my master's part, I agree. My comrades, if I can even call them that are people who became deranged in their quest for power, each of them were kind people at first but the enhancements my master performed on them changed them both physically and mentally. I also tried asking your friends to back away peacefully but they wouldn't listen, I didn't attack them, everything I did was done in self-defense.'' Her brows briefly knitted in disgust before continuing on. ''Also as for that pig of a man that was put as your guard, I would have put him down myself for what he was about to do behind my back.''

''Why you-!'' The only reason Saji didn't pounce at the woman was due to the iron grip I put on his shoulder.

''Emiya?''

''Shahnaz was it?'' I asked simply for confirmation, the woman answered with a nod. Perhaps it was a foolish move on my part, but there was strangely a side in me that wanted to trust the woman. ''If you want no more blood to be spilled then please step aside, we never wanted any of this to happen but had no choice but to fight and I'm sure that at some level you also never wanted any of this to happen. Let us go save our master and everything will be over, no one has to get hurt anymore.''

The woman's face cringed at this suggestion, almost like it was causing her pain. ''I can't…''

My teeth began gritting as I saw her struggle, not understanding her devotion to her master even though she knows what kind of man he is. ''Is obeying your masters orders more important than listening to your heart?!''

''You wouldn't understand!'' she snapped at me, her voice strained and sharp as her our gazes meet, a spark like blaze present in her black orbs. ''I know he isn't a good man, but I owe him far too much to betray him.''

So this is how it is…

My arms fell to the side and clutched the air, my twin blades tracing in them. ''… Then you leave us no choice.''

''So it would seem.'' The enemy Queen nodded solemnly as she prepared herself for combat.

I threw Kanshou at her and dashed right after it, she didn't make any attempt to dodge and instead shifted her cloak in front of her. There was a clank sound and the black blade was sent flying in another direction. That only confirmed that this woman was hiding a weapon underneath that cloak. If the wounds the other girls have are any indication the weapon she is using should be something along the lines of a short sword or a dagger. I reached her and aimed to strike her open guard but the woman wouldn't let it be that easy for me.

My teeth clicked as my sword made contact with her cloak but didn't pass all the way through it. The woman had blocked my strike from underneath the cloak with her hidden weapon.

''Gahh!'' I grunted as the Zepar Queen's leg hit my liver, sending huge jolts of pain through my whole body. My eyes trembled as they tried to ignore the pain and get back my focus, dropping myself on my knees to dodge the next roundhouse kick. I responded in kind and delivered my own kick at the woman, but unlike me she flipped backwards and dodged the strike. As she landed on the ground she looked curiously at me. ''Going for my vitals from the start, you certainly aren't wasting any time.''

She casually leaned to the left and let Saji line pass by her, the pawn had attempted a surprise attack but failed. The woman turned her head and gave a dry look at the blonde pawn. ''Not as experienced as your friend are you?''

Shahnaz side stepped just in time to dodge a thrust strike from Tsubaki-senpai and slash from Tomoe, the woman didn't appeared phased at all as she looked at the two attackers. ''Even if you all join in it won't change the end result.''

Her blasé attitude was really getting under everyone's skin, even the calm and collected Tsubaki-senpai was sneering at the opponent.

The others had managed to recover and had surrounded the enemy. With a sharp battle cry they all attacked the enemy Queen together. The only one who stood behind was me, not because I didn't want to help or was too exhausted to do so, but there was a thought that keep plaguing my mind and wouldn't let me join in until I understood it.

Something wasn't right here.

As the Sitri peerage kept on assaulting the woman, she would casually dodge every strike thrown at her. It wasn't a matter of superior speed or advanced technique; she simply stepped away as if she was avoiding a falling leaf.

Her way of dodging just wasn't normal in my eyes, and I kept having this weird sense of déjà vu from time to time as I watched her move.

There was no reaction from her before she dodged those attacks. From all the enemies I came across up until now they would always make some sort of physical reaction when they perceived that an attack is incoming, a twitch of the ear, the eyes drifting in the direction of the source, a shift in the guard, or something, yet this woman reacted like she knew for a long time that the attack will come from that direction and she had time to prepare herself.

Aghhh! And to top it all off this nagging feeling, whenever I see her dodge an attack that she shouldn't have been able to dodge due to the timing or position keeps popping in my head. It felt like it was literally screaming at me that something isn't right here.

''Again she keeps dodging us no matter how we attack!'' Momo snapped in frustration as the enemy had been constantly dodging her fire blasts, and if the way she was breathing was any indication Momo won't be able to keep this up.

Unfortunately she wasn't the only one.

Everyone was gasping for air as they kept on pressing their relentless assault, hoping that the enemy will make even just one single mistake and having the chance to take her out.

Ruruko tried to get a drop down on her, the red spear I gave her positioned to take out her arm. The attack was unsuccessful, Shahnaz side stepped and the moment the spear stabbed the ground spun her body around and delivered an elbow blow to the poor pawns face.

Tomoe tried to come to her junior's aide going for a horizontal slash against the enemy, but like the others her moves were somehow seen through by Shahnaz who simply blocked the sword with her hidden weapon and followed up kneeing the Sitri knight in the gut when she was in her reach.

Saji tried to ensnare her with his sacred gear but it backfired horribly, just as the line was about to reach her she grabbed the end and swung Saji to the left side, right into Reya who was just about to launch a large scale magic blast.

''What the hell is going on?!'' The frustrated voice of the pawn roared. ''It's like she can predict all of our moves.''

No… predicting is one thing, but with the current amount of enemies attacking her in such a chaotic fashion it should be nearly impossible to simply predict all of what is about to happen so easily.

It was like she naturally knew what we are all about to do.

Shahnaz seemed to have noticed my calculating glare, and it seemed to have sparked her interest. She began speaking as Tsubasa tried to sneak attack her from her left side. ''The blue haired girl will sneak attack from my left side.''

The sweat on my back turned cold as my mind came across a possible answer towards the enemies' ability.

Wait… don't tell me.

''The Queen will thrust her weapon four times from the front.'' Shahnaz said as Tsubaki-senpai dashed towards her and thrust her weapon towards her four times, but every one of those four times were dodged by the enemy Queen.

You have to be freaking kidding me!

Saji stepped by me and was about to speak, the shocked expression he had told me that he came to the very same conclusion that I did. ''Your next line is going to be: 'Holy shit Emiya! This chick can see the future!' ''

''Holy shit Emiya! This chick can see the future!'' Saji said in a panicked voice, the color draining from his face as he just witnessed firsthand the mind blowing event before him.

He wasn't the only one, everyone heard the woman speak what was on Saji's mind before he managed to say it himself. Everyone was sitting rigidly in place, trying to come to terms of what's going on.

No wonder no attack could reach her. It was never a matter of us being unable to do it, our opponent just was able to see what we were going to before we even attempted it.

Precognition… of all powers and abilities she could have had it had to be that!

Shahnaz took a step forward and rearranged her cloak, she was looking as unmotivated as always but there was a bit of concern visible in her eyes.

''Sorry to disappoint you all but getting past me is impossible since I can gaze into the future and see everything that you can possibly attempt.'' She claimed boldly to us, clearing everything up so we can properly assess how impossible this ordeal is. ''Please do us all a favor and lets cease this battle.''

That was enough.

Since I was low on prana I should preserve any weapon that is still in usable conditions, as such I tied Bakuya around my waist with my shirt and traced my bow in its place. Slowly stepping forward my eyes were locked on the enemies black ones.

''You know… for someone that can see the future you sure are asking a lot of something you already know we won't do.'' I remarked as I position myself in proper shooting position. ''Just as you can't step aside, we also cannot stop here.''

My words seemed to have a sort of motivational power to them, the others broke out of their shocked states and prepared themselves to fight back once more.

''Then take your aim bowman and taste despair as your arrows never hit.'' The Zepar Queen declared as she took stance.

I traced the gale arrow I copied from earlier from the enemy bow user and shot it at her, but Shahnaz dashed a fraction of second before the arrow got released, the only thing that the arrow was able to do to her was violently ruffle her cloak.

The prana consumption was relatively low so I traced more of them around me. I began a violent assault of arrows upon her person and for the first time in my life I was truly experiencing the frustration of not hitting my target.

As I kept firing arrow after the other the nagging feeling kept repeating in my head continuously. Although this sensation was beginning to annoy me, I couldn't help but feel like something was amiss here. How peculiar… the arrows I used belonged to her own ally, so she probably must have seen them on some occasion and yet she didn't seem to be surprised that I was able to replicate them.

I changed the arrow to a less destructive one and gestured to Tsubaki-senpai to move in, the queen nodded and dashed straight to Shahnaz and began thrusting her weapon at her once again. Shahnaz was blocking the strikes with her hidden weapon while simultaneously avoiding my arrows.

The nagging feeling once again began bugging me, my eyes narrowed as I saw Shahnaz dodge another attack by the pole-arm wielder.

Wait, didn't Tsubaki-senpai nick her arm?

Shahnaz dodged another attack and got close to Tsubaki-senpai and kicked her in the ribs, sending her flying away, before jumping upwards to dodge a surprise attack from Tomoe.

Ahh! That feeling was getting worse each time it repeated. Weird I could have sworn that Tomoe managed to slash her.

This is bad, not even with me adding support fire while working with the others against the enemy is doing anything. She is still able to avoid any real damage somehow slipping away from every attack. Her movements were fluid and precise without any waste to them, as such hoping to exhaust her is out of the question, especially since all of us are low on stamina to begin with.

Her ability to see the future is too much.

No, stop rushing in and think things through. There has to be some kind of weakness or limit to her power, if she could truly see the future like she claims then our rescue attempt shouldn't have worked in the first place. She could have seen it happen and prevented it, or at the very least she could have gazed into the future once our escape took place and informed her allies on how to stop us.

If her power was truly seeing into the future we could have never got this far.

Yes… this nagging feeling that has been bothering me all this time… there's more to her power than what she lets on. Either there's some sort of limit to her power… or it isn't even what she claims to be in the first place.

I don't know what led me to do it, but I picked the sword tied around my waste and ran my thumb on its edge cutting it deep.

Once again I took aim and prepared an arrow to fire at the enemy, pulling the string back and waited for perfect time to release my attack.

 _Now._

The nagging feeling returned as I was about to attack. ''Huh?''

I cut off my assault right before I could fully enact it, my body frozen solid in one spot, a shocked expression crawling on the enemies face as she saw my sudden stop. The reason I stopped was due to a brief glance at my thumb.

The cut I made on my finger… it vanished. It didn't heal, I intentionally made it deep enough to take a bit of time to close up. It was like a drawing was wiped clean off a canvas.

The missing pieces of the puzzle finally put themselves in place, realization hitting me like a sledge hammer. So that's how it is… no wonder she's been able to play us this whole time.

I know what she is doing, but in order to confirm it, I need one final piece to truly crack the puzzle.

The enemy was still stunned by my sudden change of action so I took advantage of this. I shifted my bow slightly and shot my arrow, however I didn't aim at her directly.

My aim was her cloak.

The gale arrow I used did the trick, it rushed past the black eyes woman and the air force generated by it shredded part of the cloak revealing the one weapon she was desperately trying to hide from the world to see.

It was risky, from previous experiences what I am about to do can have negative side effects that can prove fatal in this battle but I can't back away now, this was the turning point of the fight.

One glance was all I managed to get before the woman desperately hide it once again with the rest of her cloak.

For some just one glance wouldn't have made much of a difference, but to me it was all that I needed. My structural grasping had instantly kicked in and revealed to me her secrets.

Shahnaz dodged a magic blast from Reya and jumped on a nearby railing, her expression was quite different from the uninterested one she had earlier. ''What did you just do?''

''I understand now…'' I muttered slowly, gathering the attention of everyone in the room, lifting my finger accusingly at the enemy. ''You don't see the future… you rewind it.''

Her eyes went wide in shock, pupils dilating in sync with her skin draining of color. ''That dagger you keep hiding… it's a unique sacred gear said to be on rival the Longinus class ones…''

''The dagger containing the essence of time itself, a fragment of Zurvan, the founding Zoroastrian God's very existence.'' I grimaced as I went on; somehow the word Zoroastrian was giving me the bad vibes even though I have limited knowledge about it. ''A tale never recorded, left to be lost within the sands of time, that of a lone Persian prince that possessed the same sacred gear, however it originally was just a powerful dagger, lacking the dominion over time. It was when the prince had encountered the remnants of Zurvan's spirit and fought the former god from dusk to dawn. When the final strike was dealt to the old god the blade had pierced the stream of time itself and it empowered the dagger, the sacred gear had evolved into something new and unique, and from there on it became known as **Dustan's Dagger** , the blade that had pierced the flow of time.''

''Impossible…'' was all she able to whisper, her voice strained and dry, the shock of me realizing what her powers truly were but also knowing the lore behind it had left her completely flabbergasted. I had to admit that the tale behind the dagger was quite interesting, and to my surprise there wasn't any after effect like when I used structural grasping on Saji's sacred gear or on Regulus Nemea.

Perhaps my mind is adapting to structural grasping them.

Whatever the case may be, I gladly welcome it, last thing I needed was me blacking out in the middle of this fight.

''Umm, Shirou isn't rewinding time even stronger than seeing in the future?'' I glanced to the side and noticed that Reya and everyone else was staring at me with uncertain eyes. ''I mean she can just rewind to whenever she isn't in danger and then she knows everything that will happen right?''

''It's not that simple.'' I corrected her as I straightened myself, my eyes never ignoring the enemy. ''The user first needs to create an dominion where the daggers powers can be used, as long the user is within it she can rewind the time in the area. This whole room is probably under her territory so as long as we are within it she can rewind the time. ''

Everyone took in and started looking sharply around the room, I myself didn't notice it up now but around the corners glyphs were carved in obscure places. An idea could be to try and destroy the glyphs but there are too many of them and by the time Shahnaz notices what we are trying she can simply rewind back.

''It has some limits though… for one thing the user can't use it without a small cool down period between each rewind and the user can only rewind about a minute of time at the most. Another thing is that the people affected with the exception of the user don't realize time is being turned back, the only exception is in the case if the people involved become aware of what the daggers abilities.'' my eyes narrowed as the enemy Queen has begun collecting herself. ''Up until now since we didn't know of the dagger we couldn't realize that time was being turned back, but now that we do and know about its existence our minds will remember the events.''

''So, um, how do we beat that?'' Tomoe asked as she readied her black katana.

I took a second and contemplated the options we had and there was just one solution that came to mind. ''The only available option we have is to separate her from the dagger. The trigger to rewind is a switch on the weapons handle, if she can't press it she can't use its abilities.''

Everyone nodded at my plan and prepared themselves for the counter attack; the enemy on the hand seemed to get out of her shock state and narrowed her eyes at me, trying to discern what she was facing.

''What are you bowman?'' she spoke softly, no anger or frustration, just pure curiosity.

That question made me ponder for a bit… what was I truly?

What part of me truly defined what I was?

Was I a devil?

A warrior?

A magus?

None of those felt like they described me accurately, even though I technically all of them.

A tired sigh escaped my lips, that was something I could ask myself on a later date, for now I had a job to do. ''Just an everyday high school student.''

To my own surprise the woman didn't take my answer negatively, quite the contrary, it caused her to chuckle lightly. ''You say that and yet you somehow unraveled my sacred gears true powers. It's such a shame that I never was able to achieve balance breaker, it might have made things easier for me.''

Balance breaker… I never encountered one before but from what I could make out from some of the books I got from Sona, a balance breaker is basically an evolved form of a sacred gear, much more powerful than its original form.

The fact that she doesn't possess one is a blessing; her powers were already a nightmare to begin with, if they evolved to a higher level I tremble at the thought of what she could achieve. Now that I think about it when I finished structural grasping her sacred gear, there seemed like there was a gap within its layout, like a cog missing within a bigger machine, a similar experience that I had when I did the same with Saji's sacred gear. Perhaps that is a sign that the user has yet to achieve the balance breaker.

''I guess there's no need to hide it anymore.'' Shahnaz remarked as she tugged the collar of her cloak, throwing it away with one swift pull. ''Now I have to fight seriously.''

The moment the cloak hit the ground my eyes found themselves unable to look away from the enemy Queen. I'm starting to believe that she was wearing that cloak for more than simply concealing her weapon, the attire she was sporting was something I sure wasn't expecting from someone like her. She was wearing a revealing armor that divides down her chest and torso showing her toned abdomen. For her extremities she was wearing long knee high boots with black gloves, all of which are covered in metal plates, around her left thigh she has strapped a short sword.

If someone asked me what I thought of her chosen battle attire I would probably stay silent, it was like someone fused together battle armor with erotic lingerie and threw a sword in just to be there.

''Wow… that's one hell of an armor.'' Saji remarked silently, trying his best to keep a straight face but small drizzle of blood pouring from his nose wasn't really helping.

''Huh… an exhibitionist.'' Tsubaki-senpai threw her own two cents, nothing present on her features except for a perfect poker face.

''Excuse me?'' Shahnaz instantly snapped at this remark, her face flushed in beet red. ''I don't want to hear that from someone whose school uniform looks like it was designed by a middle aged pervert.''

Before I knew it that insult sparked a big fire within the feminine members of our team, every one of them was glaring daggers at the woman, with the occasional colorful swearing thanks to Tsubasa. How odd, it was like a literal fire was burning in the background behind the girls.

''To be fair our threads are a bit flashy for a high school uniform.'' Reya remarked sheepishly, trying somewhat to defuse the situation. ''I mean seriously the skirts are way too loose, at the smallest breeze you get an entire catalog of panties. Not to mention the whole design of the corset thing over our dress shirts, it's like they were specifically designed to make your breast stick out.''

There was a weird unanimous nod between the girls, like fellow victims of the same suffering empathizing with each other. Strangely enough though I found Shahnaz also had the same look on her.

My hand reacted by sheer instinct and decided to offer me a very generous face palm.

Women and their damn concern over fashion seemed to be universal apparently.

I structural grasped Shahnaz's armor and weapon in order to get myself back on track; the end result gave me mixed feelings. The sword wasn't anything special; the armor on the other hand was the problem. ''Guys, stay focused. Its design aside, that armor is actually magically enchanted and increases the swiftest of her movements. Up until know she was able to counter our attacks since she would know where they would hit, but in order to dodge all of them one would require both incredible speed and mobility. That's where the armor comes into play, it can make a regular person have the mobility of an Olympic gymnast, now add that to a devil with a Queen piece. The real challenge starts now.''

I intentionally left out the fact the guy that forged that set of armor was a hopeless pervert with a fetish for skimpy dressed female warriors, so much that he modeled most of his armors after all kinds of crazy designs from all kinds of video games. Enemy or not I pity Shahnaz for having to wear that, pros outweighing cons be damned.

Tension rose in my muscles as I nocked an arrow while taking aim, tracing and firing a bomb arrow at the enemy, the latter bending her back to the limits and narrowly dodging it. With a spring like elasticity she jerked herself back up and dashed towards me, Dustan's Dagger in her right hand and the other sword in her left.

Her speed was nothing like before, now she was serious. I fired arrows one after the other and she would narrowly dodge them, even when the others joined in to take her down she would avoid them and continue her path towards me. My guess is that she deemed me the most dangerous opponent here, so the best solution was to take me out quick.

She reached in front of me and readied her blades to strike, I immediately went for the Bakuya tied around my waist to block her, but my hand stopped mid-way, for the sight of the enemy exploding in a pillar of fire had such an effect. A quick glance to the side let me see that Momo was responsible, quite the shot might I add.

My nose tingled as a sandy scent invaded it, my eyes widening as I returned my attention at the burning enemy, drawing my sword to take a swing and stop her before it was too late.

The edge of the blade cut through the fire and began eviscerating through the enemies arm. As it was about to cleave through her the world around me seemed to slow down and eventually stop, the flames sitting perfectly in place, even my body refused to move anymore, my eyes managed to drift a little bit to the side, catching the sight of Shahnaz's smirk within the flames.

Her thumb was pressing on the daggers switch.

The blade was glowing in dim gold light as sand like particles were released and sent from within the daggers pummel.

Before I knew it, everything began moving in reverse.

The blade of my sword was retracting itself and the wounds made by it were closing back, the fire it cut through was reuniting, my body was returning to its original spot before I launched my attack and finally the explosion was compressing itself back into a fire ball which returned back to Reya's hands.

As Shahnaz returned everything to the very moment she was about to strike me she took her thumb off the dagger and time returned back to its normal flow.

We were back to where we were moments ago.

Shahnaz leaped backwards and dodge the blast, picking up one of the broken arrow heads when she landed back on the ground and thrown it towards Reya, piercing her in the shoulder.

Dammit.

With the way her rewind works every action is a pattern to her. Everything starts in point A and finishes in point B in for her and once she sees the two points she can make everything work in her favor, now that I know of her ability once the rewind is finished I have to change my destination, creating a new point C instead. It does not work all the way through to defeat her, but at the very least it robs her of her precognition advantage.

We need to disarm her before she gets the chance to rewind time.

''Everyone! Hit her with everything you've got and don't stop no matter what!'' My voice roared as I brought my hand up in the air, dozens of the arrows I copied from the elf bow user manifesting around me ready to be fired.

''Yes!''

The others grouped up in different pairs and cornered the enemy Queen, the first pair was Saji and Ruruko that took her right side, the second team composed of Tomoe and Tsubasa blocked her left side and Tsubaki-senpai chose the rear. Momo was the only one that stayed behind to treat Reya's bleeding shoulder.

The sound of my bow string echoed through the air as I started firing arrow after arrow, in synch with the battle cry of the others charging at the enemy Queen.

Enemy as she was, there was still respect to be given to her standing against us by herself and not backing away in spite of the difference in numbers.

She never flinched when the weapons of her enemies drew in closer.

First was Tsubaki-senpai, she brought down the Houtegageki on her and eviscerated her left arm.

Shahnaz had rewind time and crotched right before the attack, swipe kicking Tsubaki-senpai and aiming to stab her as she fell down.

Tomoe and Tsubasa both caught up and prepare to slash and pummel the enemy from opposite sides with their respective weapons. When Juuchi Yosamu pierced and Járngreipr made contact with her face I clicked my teeth.

Her finger was already on the daggers switch.

Time had rewind again, when the Knight and Rook were about reach the Zepar Queen unfolded her wings and moved them strongly forward, creating enough force to push herself backward in the air. The two friends almost smashed into each other, stopping at the very last moment, yet when they looked up they both paled as Shahnaz charged a last ball of demonic energy and blasted it at them.

The explosion that followed was a powerful one. The fires however didn't last long and immediately dissipated, revealing that Tsubasa tried tanking the blast with her gauntlets but she wasn't fast enough and the blast still managed to burn both of them deeply.

That wasn't enough for Shahnaz and she immediately charged another energy blast and fired it at the still struggling duo. Much to her own surprise her attack missed even though she had ample firing range.

Shahnaz found herself not moving anymore, glancing down at her leg, her brows knitting together when she saw that Saji had pinned with his sacred gear, probably yanked onto her the moment she released the blast and the sudden change in position caused her attack to deviate from its original course. She didn't heed him too much attention and turned her head back and took notice of Ruruko that was gliding at her at full speed, Gae Dearg held forward like a giant dart.

Blood was sprayed in the air as Ruruko's attack passed through her enemies left side, leaving a giant evisceration on the enemy, a large section of her stomach and spleen getting shredded along the way.

A haggard cough escaped Shahnaz's mouth together with large quantity of blood, droplets of red raining down on the floor, together with small golden lights.

I couldn't even get the chance to shout about it, she had once again triggered the dagger.

Time began rewinding and the fatal wound she received was returning back to its uninjured state. We found ourselves back to the very moment before she released her second magic blast. Knowing what was to come she used her wings to shift in the air and change position just as Saji was about to catch her with his sacred gear. Not wasting any time she twisted herself and pointed her attack to the girl that had previously eviscerated her. Ruruko was caught like a reindeer in the headlights and didn't have time take any defensive action, the magical blast hitting her dead on and exploding on impact.

A loud thud was heard as her smoked and burned body hit the ground. The burns were mostly superficial but the force of the impact clearly messed with her sense of direction by how she couldn't seem to pick herself up.

My teeth were one step away from breaking due to how hard I was gritting them. This had to be some kind of sick joke… All this time while she was fighting and taking everyone down one by one she was doing all of that while avoiding and deflecting my arrows.

This isn't going anywhere! Think Emiya! Think dammit!

There has to be a way to separate her from that dagger.

She keeps rewinding whenever she is critically injured and when that happens she knows what will happen.

If I could change my attack to something else right after the rewind happens…

Huh?

Wait a second…

No, not change it.

Delay it.

There might be a way for me to stop her.

My eyes narrowed as a discarded my bow and picked the sword tied around my waist. A bowman won't work for what I'm planning, this is a job for a swordsman.

''You know I had enough of your cheat like ability.'' I claimed loudly as I began walking towards her, tracing my swords twin counterpart.

The black eyed queen stopped herself from unleashing another magical blast at Saji and turned he head back to face me.

''Then by all means stop me.'' She replied simply, no form of animosity present, just a matter of stating facts. ''Try to defy time all you want, you will only find despair.''

''Bring it on!'' I shouted as I began rushing towards her, as it currently stands with my current amount of prana and stamina I have only one chance to take her down so I have to make it count.

The enemy was by no means underestimating me; she wasn't going to let me get close to her if she could help it. As such she waved her hands and several magic sigils manifested in the air and a barrage of magical blasts started firing at me with incredible speed.

The first blast was approaching fast on its course and was only a few seconds away from hitting my shoulder. How ironic, where previously I was the hunter that used ranged attacks on her and she was target, now the roles were reversed and I was the prey.

It was only natural that I respond the same way she did.

The grip on my blades tightened and I slashed at the incoming blast cutting it in half, the now separated halves of energy passed me by and exploded. Unlike the previous blasts these ones were far smaller and not as powerful, but they were much faster and far greater in numbers with a lower charging time.

Will I reach her first or will she take me down?

This was the question that everyone which witnessed me dodge and slash my way to the enemy must have had.

My muscles screamed in pain, I was already in very poor condition from the start and this was only adding salt to the wound. If that wasn't enough, even though the enemies magical blasts wasn't denting Kanshou or Bakuya, the residual heat of the blast was quickly heating them, the skin on my palms were getting slowly burned in the process.

My only solace was that the pain wasn't going to last for long as I entered the planned range. I planted my foot firmly in the ground with a powerful stomp, sent Bakuya flying at the enemy. Upon seeing this Shahnaz immediately dismissed her long range blast and brandished her dagger and sword once more, her features clearly bracing for the impact but softened as Bakuya embedded itself at the ground of her feet.

The blade hadn't missed the target.

What she didn't know however was that it wasn't supposed to hit her in the first place.

I immediately threw Kanshou to the opposite direction its white counterpart flew, spinning wildly completely off track from the target. Judging by the somewhat pitiful look she was giving me she probably deduced that I wasn't able to aim anymore given my current condition, not that I would blame her considering how much I was currently gasping for air and how my body wasn't able to stop shaking from the strain I was putting on it.

Let her believe what she wants, it was now or never.

I traced another pair of my twin blades, teeth grinding against each other in an attempt to endure the pain. With one final push I rushed towards the black haired queen and prepared to give her a taste of my steel.

Others would have probably taken this as a challenge and faced me just to prove a point. Kurosaiga was such a person, and he would have fought me to claim victory the traditional way, by proving his skill and power.

However Shahnaz wasn't like that; she was a cautious warrior, her fighting style wasn't either a direct or close one, and she sought to exploit the openings that were created whenever she rewinded time. Because of this I knew that she wouldn't try to face my attack.

She would rewind time, but only if she was faced with an attack that she couldn't dodge or block and ended up critically injuring her.

The moment I was in range and brought my swords to slash her she tried to step back and dodge, It was a calculated reaction, dodging at the time when I couldn't change my attack.

My swords would cut through the air, almost nicking her.

That was the normal case, but she didn't know that breaking through the limits wasn't something I did just with my body.

I also did it with my swords.

'' **Overedge!** '' I shouted and poured my prana into my blades, making them grow from short swords into long swords.

Making the twin married swords long enough to reach the enemy.

A strained gasp was heard as the edges of the blades ran through the woman's body, the two arms that she used to raise her guard at the last moment flew in the air together with blood and pieces of flesh, the twin blades having cut through them like a hot knifes through butter.

My eyes sharpened as they took this opportunity to finish this once and for all, yet my body faltered for a single second as I saw the woman's visage.

She was smirking.

Panic overtook me with the possible explanation.

My eyes snapped towards the direction of dismembered arm and silently cursed.

The thumb of the dismembered arm was rigidly pressed on the daggers switch.

She had managed to press on it a split second before her arm got severed.

Golden particles erupted from the dagger and spread once again around us.

Time was getting rewinded once again.

Everything was quickly turning back, stopping around the time I was about to reach and strike her. As she knew of my plan to separate her from her dagger in a very literal sense she immediately backed away and put more distance between us.

My body kept going on its track regardless of what happened. In spite of all of this there was a contradicting reaction coming from the corners of my cheeks.

I was smirking.

At the sight of this confusion laced with panic grew in the woman's eyes, not being able to understand why I was reacting in such a way given that my plan failed.

That was where she was mistaken.

My plan didn't fail, it was about to reach fruition at this very moment.

''Gahh!'' A pain filled scream escaped the woman's mouth. Her trembling black orbs drifted towards her right hand and at the black blade that stabbed it from her back. The reason the blade didn't pass all the way through was because it got stuck because of the pummel on the other side. In any case it hit its mark. ''My hand!''

She was obviously no stranger to pain from how she was able to endure so many attacks gravely injuring her up until this point and never stop. However it was more precise to say that her mind was used to it, her body though still felt it very much. It would still react from the pain if the proper wounds would be dealt to it.

The reaction that I bet everything on was the natural reaction she would have when Kanshou unexpectedly stabbed her hand, and my bet paid off.

The pain caused her hand to loosen its grip and let go of the dagger, an action that made her eyes widen, as she desperately tried to recover it with her still working hand.

This was what I planned for.

I pulled back my arm and threw my left blade at the dagger, the sound of steel clashing filled the room, the two short weapons were sent flying in different directions.

Dustan's Dagger now way out of the woman's reach.

All of this had shaken the woman beyond her limit, unable to react anymore when I reached her and ran my blade down from her collar bone all the way to her waist.

Blood erupted forth and the time empress fell dully on the ground.

By some miracle I was able to stomp my foot down and keep myself from also falling. I couldn't relax, after everything that happen and every time she ended up rewinding time whenever she got critically injured there was no way I could calm down without making sure she stayed down.

My tired eyes drifted at the woman's unmoving body, there were no movements from her but she was still conscious. Her broken black eyes made contact with mine and stared in contemplation, as if searching for an answer she couldn't find.

''H-How?'' she muttered silently, there was no anger or frustration over her defeat, just a sad curiosity. ''How were you able to bypass my time manipulation?''

There was really no need to answer this woman, for all that happened I could very well just ignore her and simply move on.

Yet… there was a part of me that respected her for her ability and character. To me, now that everything was said and done, she wasn't a real enemy like those that came before her. She never gloated or took pleasure in the pain she caused us, no, as far as I could tell this was just as painful for her.

I couldn't think of her as an enemy, if anything she was an obstacle that simply had to be overcome.

One that I came to respect, just like I did with Kurosaiga Ichirou.

''It's not that difficult once you understand the pattern you used.'' I sighed as I rubbed the back of my neck, it was definitely stiff after all of this. ''The only times you used that rewind of yours was when you sustained a critical blow, then once you reversed time you would dodge or deflect that blow.''

She gave a slight nod and gestured me to continue, knowing that there was more to it than that.

''It was kind of a gamble but I thought that maybe if I could make an attack that would take more time to reach you perhaps you wouldn't notice it. My twin blades have a power of attraction between each other, always causing them to try and reach for one another. When I threw that first blade I faked out my intention and purposely missed so you wouldn't bother deflecting it. The second blade that I used I hoped you would let it fly away, as it kept hovering in the air until it began changing direction being drawn back towards its twin close to you, but it would take more time to do so. That was when I jumped in and forced you to rewind time, once you were back before the injury you would have backed away… right into the incoming blade.''

The sight of realization hitting her was akin to taking a hammer to the gut, the pained and sorrowful expression she displayed was telling me the amount of disappointment she was feeling. ''Dammit… dammit all.''

''It's over Shahnaz-san.'' I spoke in a stoic tone, even though I was the one that won, I didn't feel any sort of satisfaction from my victory, the opposite in fact, I felt disappointed that I couldn't have solved everything without all of this happening.

''Y-Yes… yes it is.'' She nodded as she started silently sobbing.

The footsteps I heard informed me that the others managed to patch themselves up and catch up to me. No words were spoken, the others probably understood that I was struggling with this conflict and allowed me to speak what was on my mind without interrupting me.

''Why?'' I muttered between my gritting teeth, it just didn't feel right, all of this. ''Please tell me why do you go so far for a man like him.''

There was so much information within that sacred gear, giving the short amount of time I had on hand short cuts had to be made so I couldn't read into its full history. I only scratched the surface and managed to get the general gist of what it's capable of doing unable to touch upon the wielder's history. The risk of me blacking out like the time I structural grasped the Nemean Lion was also there, if that would've happened I have no doubt that Shahnaz wouldn't have ignored such an opening.

''He gave me a purpose.'' She muttered softly, her black eyes drifting at the devils near me, her gaze faltering when it fell on Saji and Tsubaki-senpai. ''Sacred gear users have always been rare gems for the strong to collect. That doesn't apply to devils exclusively; Heaven, the Grigori, and all other pantheons have their collectors. Even humans have different groups and organizations that recruit them.''

There was a heavy silence and a void like look in her eyes, as if she searched for something and yet couldn't find it. ''I can't remember when it happened but after my sacred gear manifested I found myself owned by an Efreet slave merchant. He was an insane sadist that kept torturing his slaves, when I fell into his hands it was the same time I ceased to be a person. Over and over again, he would take his time and torture me always finding new methods and tricks to use on me. I was his favorite toy, one that could never be broken no matter how much damage he did to my body. My sacred gear may have restrictions and limits but whenever I would be close to death it would forcefully activate and reverse everything that caused my demise.'' Her eyes became empty, no light, and no emotion. ''I was denied even the freedom of death.''

''Segrif often made deals with him, buying rare exotic beasts from him to use in his experiments. That was how we met. He killed my former master when he learned that he had been double crossing him, and took everything that he owned for himself. When he freed me I was expecting him to claim me as his own possession, but what he said to me was the very reason that made me follow him even to this day.''

''What was it?''

''He told me I could leave if I desired, that for the first time I can chose for myself. I could have walked away, but I chose to follow him…'' she paused and gazed at the empty air, searching for something that wasn't even there. ''Was it out of gratitude? Or was it because I didn't have anything else?''

''Before I joined him I was nothing but a nameless slave without any reason in life. Segrif was the one that gifted me with my current name, he noticed I was of Persian descent and named me Shahnaz, an old Persian name that translates as 'Pride of the king', one that he chose because he wanted me to become his pride.'' The series of emotion kept shifting on her features, from nostalgic to sad, to longing, and then to disappointment. ''I saw the kind of man he was in time, he wasn't by any means a good person, but he wasn't a truly vile one either, but as time went by he kept changing and becoming worse.''

I found myself silently tightening my fist bitterly after hearing this story. Perhaps it was just pity, but there was something about it that just rubbed me the wrong way with me, I couldn't tell what it was exactly but it felt like it wasn't the first time I heard of something like this. Someone still caring for a person that was abusing them and knew that they weren't good and yet still stood by their side in spite of all of that and continued to endure all the pain that came with it. Maybe it was my eyes playing tricks on me from all the fatigue, but for a brief moment I could have sworn that Shahnaz had long purple hair. My hand reached for my forehead, trying to clear my mind, a sigh followed my when I put it back down. ''… If you could rewind back to that point when you could have walked away, would you chose differently?''

''… No.'' she replied without a moment to waste. ''That was my choice to make, I may bitterly regret it but I will never deny it.''

No matter how much I tried and wanted to control my reactions, I couldn't stop my eyes from closing in sadness. Before I knew it I was slowly walking away from her, searching sluggishly among the rumble. When I found what I was looking for I slowly made my way back to her, noticing the shocked reaction from everyone as they understood what I was doing, Saji was one step away from cutting my way off but was stopped when Tsubaki-senpai threw her arm in front of him and gestured to him, to all of them to let me be. I could only nod in appreciation at our Queen, she in response narrowed her mismatched eyes, hoping that I knew what I was doing.

I slowly knelled next to the fallen Zepar Queen and picked up her hand, staring into her black orbs as I handed her the object that only belonged to her. ''It could have ended differently if you simply have chosen not to raise your blade against us.''

Her tired eyes stared at Dustan's Dagger back into her hand, her perplexed gaze wondered back at me. It was so simple yet she struggled, her thumb shaking above the daggers trigger, just one single push of a finger, that was all it would take to rewind time back and prevent this defeat from happening, and yet she was so torn between doing it. Her black orbs soaked with tears even further as her dagger dropped onto the floor, accepting the sympathy from the very person she tried to kill only moments ago. ''It doesn't matter… whoever wins today is irrelevant… both you and my masters struggling will become only senseless actions… in the end everything will be for nothing…''

''I couldn't agree more!'' both my eyes and Shahnaz's snapped open upon hearing this familiar condescending voice.

We all turned to face the direction from where it came from, and there he was, the very cancer that had caused this nightmare in the first place. Segrif Zepar leaned against the entrance with his arms crossed in a manner displaying the utmost arrogance of his nature.

Shahnaz for one paled even further, fear painted all over her face. ''M-Master!''

Upon hearing getting addressed the Zepar heir narrowed his eyes at his queen, there was anger present in them but the emotion that seemed to predominate in them was pure pity.

''Truly… to get defeated by such greenhorns, you disappoint me Shahnaz.''

Those words must have felt like knives from how Shahnaz would flinch in shame when she received them.

After everything that she had done… after all that she went through… this was all she got in return.

This has gone on for far too long!

''Where is Sona?!'' Tsubaki-senpai screamed the question that we all have been demanding from the first moment we woke up in that rotting cell.

''Yeah! What did you do to her you sicko?!'' Saji for one looked like he was about to strangle Segrif should he get his hands on him.

''Sona?'' the wavy haired man tilted his head playfully to the side, acting like he was talking with toddlers. ''Oh, why she right here.''

With an over exaggerated hand gesture he stepped aside and let us saw the person sitting right behind him.

There she was, unharmed and free, her constant stoic expression present on her face as she slowly walked in the room.

''Kaichou!''

''Is there any need to shout Saji?'' Sona remarked while narrowing her eyes, the same expression she always made when Saji was doing something exaggerated.

That casual reaction… something was definitely wrong here. There was no way Sona would act in such a way after everything that happened. I noticed it, Saji noticed it, and everyone else noticed it too. The one that confronted her about this was her best friend. ''Sona… are you okay?''

''I am fine Tsubaki, now cease all of this hostility.'' She informed us with a stern expression, causing everyone to pale and panic at what she was saying.

''B-But Kaichou, he abducted all of us! We fought our way and almost got killed to save you!'' Tomoe argued desperately, hoping it will help Sona snap out of whatever state she was in.

The king of the Sitri peerage didn't seem to react negatively at this, all she did was sigh tiredly. ''I admit that the whole abducting part on Segrif's part was rather rash, but we have talked things over and reached common ground. Also while I appreciate your efforts if only you have waited patiently all of you could have met me without any need for violence.''

Seeing all of this, after everything that happened with Shahnaz, with everything that we endured and overcame until this point… it really began getting under my skin. My neck turned slowly towards the Zepar heir, and if the way the others flinched and stepped back when I turned around was any indication I probably was giving the man a beyond murderous glare. ''What did you do to her?''

Segrif Zepar appeared to have took an involuntary step backwards when our eyes met, his skin losing some of its color even though he was still maintaining his calm and victorious smile. To my own annoyance Sona stepped in between us. ''It's nothing that concerns you Shirou, now be so kind and lower those weapons.''

''You!'' I couldn't keep the sneer from escaping, I felt like I was slowly and steadily losing it, having grown tired of all the literal bullshit that we've been through in the past twenty-four hours because of this man.

Segrif took notice of my seething rage, but his eyes seemed to have finally noticed the injured state my body was, his confidence seemingly returning as he reached the conclusion that in my current state I wouldn't pose a threat to him.

Little did he knew that an injured and cornered beast was far more dangerous that a healthy one.

''I'm so sorry to burst your bubble boy but you heard your masters orders, after all I don't imagine any of you would like to be reported for insubordination and possible behavior of strays.'' He commented as he stepped in front of Sona and elaborated with an all knowing shit eating grin on his face, one that was just begging to be punched. Regardless, the point he was making was valid, with how Sona was there was no telling what she may say or do, and for all that I know Segrif can manipulate the facts and make it seem like we were the bad guys. This knowledge made my hand tightened around the hilt of my sword, I was one step away from lunging at this man, especially when that condescending smile of his kept growing. ''So the little swordsman wants to rebel, come at me then, I will need a cut or two as proof of you going astray.''

You know what... I don't give a damn anymore.

The urge to end this once and for all filled me as I turned around and started walking towards the Zepar heir in spite of hearing the others telling me to stop.

''Oh, there was one thing I forgot to mention Segrif.'' Sona remarked offhand as she took a step right behind him.

''What is it my dear?'' He asked sweetly, yet he didn't bother to turn and look at the woman behind me.

 _Wooshhhh!_

Eh?

I blinked once, then twice, making sure I wasn't hallucinating because for a brief moment I saw a flash of blue in front of me and next thing I knew Segrif came flying right past me.

To further confirm, I turned around and checked, and it seemed like I wasn't wrong with what I saw. As there I saw Segrif smashed against a wall, large bleeding wound at the center of his spine, and a lot of water around him.

My neck moved almost mechanically back into place and I saw Sona there with her hand extended, a magic sigil glowing dangerously in it, and yet it paled to the ice cold fury present in her eyes.

Regardless, I wasn't prepared for what she said next.

''Go fuck yourself.''

* * *

 **Halloween Omake:**

Shirou was sitting in his kitchen and vigorously rubbing his eyes as he talked on the phone. ''Okay, Tomoe, remind me again why we are hosting the party at my place?''

''[Because last year some of the candy we got had liquor in them and then someone thought it would be really hilarious to use a spell and increase the power of alcohol in them. The end result ruined Kaichou's house and she banned us from hosting any Halloween party at her place ever again.]

The left eye of the sword magus twitched violently at this remark. ''Need I remind you who that certain someone that spiked the candy was?''

The Sitri knight whistled innocently at the question. ''[Oh come on we all had a blast that night.]''

Shirou's face went grim as he recalled the pandemonium he had to face that night. ''Sure you say that, but the only ones who had to deal with the chaos were Saji and I since we hadn't touched any of that candy you rigged.''

''[Okay maybe we went a little overboard.]'' Tomoe laughed awkwardly as she recalled some of the stuff they did that night, like Reya and Momo filing the bath tub with chocolate syrup and getting in it naked at the same time. Or Tsubasa and Ruruko casting random spells on candy and then eating them to the point that they began puking rainbows, actual literal rainbows. Or Sona prank calling every teacher at Kuoh and telling them they were fired. Or how she went out and bought a goat and brought it in the living room… she still had no idea why she did that. However the one who took the cake both literally and figuratively just had to be the Sitri Queen. ''[Though you didn't seem to mind it that much when Tsubaki-senpai started clinging onto your body like a snake.]''

A cold shiver ran down on Shirou's spine at that particular memory. He would have never imagined that the usually stoic and serious girl could get so clingy, touchy, and devilish when she gets drunk. Keeping her hands above his belt and lips off his neck was the hardest battle he had ever faced. ''Don't remind me… the two of us couldn't talk or even look at each other for a whole week because of that.''

''[Now! Since we are holding the party at your place we won't try any funny stuff.]'' The Sitri knight stated proudly.

''And how do I know you won't?'' Shirou asked skeptical.

''[Simple, two words.]'' The amusement and playfulness has all but vanished at that moment. ''[Your mother.]''

Shirou opened his mouth to comment but stopped and pondered for a bit, nodding when he realized the truth in her words. ''…Point made.''

''[Now come down here and open up since we're here!]'' She shouted on top of her lungs, so much so that Shirou actually heard her from outside.

Shirou got up from his seat and straightened his costume. This year he decided to dress as the main character of one, if not the only anime he actually liked and watched. He was dressed into a pure black kimono with a red rosary strap that kept a giant sword tied on his back, his hair was also different, while it still retained its usual haircut the color was now closer to orange than his usual auburn.

What can he say, he really like shows with swords, and that one had _a lot_ of them.

The costumed boy reached the door and slowly opened it, just as he heard some footsteps behind him. ''Sorry for the wait.''

''You're friends Shirou?'' the person behind him asked with a giggle.

''Yeah, they're here so I have to- aghh!'' Just as he was about to fully open the door he caught sight with the corner of his eye of the person behind him and slammed the door shut that very second.

Blood rushed to the boys head giving it a very vibrant red shade to it, his hand instantly covering his eyes to block any image of the woman in front of him. As his vision got obscured the magus in training snapped in outrage. ''Iri, what the hell are you wearing?!''

''My costume?'' Irisviel tilted her head innocently unsure of what the problem was.

''Where did you get that... that… that thing?!'' Shirou's outrage continued as he pointed to the costume that his mother was wearing.

Irisviel simply sparked and did a spin on her heels in response. ''Oh, I received it in the mail, isn't it just spooky?''

Shirou just wanted to bang his head against a wall since Irisviel had apparently mistaken spooky for sexy. The costume she was wearing was probably supposed to be some sort of demon or succubus costume, but it was completely disregarding the scary elements involved and instead was cranking the sexy ones up to eleven. It was overall a skin tight purple leotard, one revealing an outrageous amount of cleavage and her navel along with detachable sleeves and collar together as well with a pair of thick thigh-highs. On her head were two thick demon horns and a matching set of purple demon wings coupled with a tail which was somehow wiggling on her back.

Any normal straight male would find this display a most erotic and sensual experience.

However to Shirou this was just disturbing and very embarrassing.

This was his _mother_ after all.

''Someone kill me, please.'' He was inwardly cursing himself that he made the sword on his back out of papier-mâché, he really wanted to use the blunt edge and knock himself out cold.

''You don't like it?'' Liz asked as she walked next to Shirou.

''Like it?! Liz can't you see that its- aghhhh!'' at some point Shirou took his hand off his eyes to look at Liz for some salvation, but was instead bombarded by another shocking image.

''What?'' Liz tilted her head mechanically, unsure to why Shirou almost fell on his butt when he saw her.

''You too Liz?!'' Shirou roared in frustration as he desperately covered his eyes.

Unlike Irisviel that could be described as a 'sexy demon', Liz on the other hand could have only been described as a 'Dangerous beast'. The costume had an overall purple wolf theme judging by the ears and tail it had, and the fur trims that it on the thigh-highs and elbow gloves. The middle section on the other hand was mostly lacking any cloth, revealing a pair of black panties for the world to see and the only thing covering the rest was an amalgamation of strings and two lone tuffs of fur covered the two vital areas on her rather abundant bust.

Shirou was beginning to have a mental breakdown due to these turn of events. Wondering if Halloween changed from dressing up scary to dressing up erotically.

The two Einzbern homunculus ladies still failed to see why Shirou was covering his eyes like his life depended on it. ''Oh stop be so uptight Shirou, its fun dressing up once in a while.''

''Hey Emiya! What are you doing man aren't you gonna open up?'' Saji roared from outside, quite pissed since Shirou literally slammed the door in their face.

There was a moment of revelation within the swordsman mind. He was supposed to host a party in his house… and the two ladies in front of him were dressed _like that_.

The gears twisted in his mind as he straightened himself and faced the door with burning determination. He traced a hammer, nails and a lot of wooden planks and proceeded to block the door using them.

''Shirou what are you doing?'' Irisviel asked bemused as her son kept nailing plank after plank.

Shirou took a moment and spoke, his eyes never leaving the door. ''Protecting the integrity of my family.''

The boy then began reinforcing the planks and door to further increase the security of his family home, never once noticing the person peek her head out of the kitchen.

Sella was silently thanking Shirou that he didn't let anyone in. Maybe she could endure getting seen by him but she would have certainly died of embarrassment if someone else saw her in the so called 'Trick or Treatment' costume that Irisviel asked (forced) her to wear. She also couldn't help but wonder how deranged a nurse would be to wear something like this.

It was a weird Halloween party that year for the Sitri house. Tomoe somehow assumed it was some kind of game on Shirou's part and they tried for the rest of the night to break in the Emiya/Einzbern house, while Shirou attempted to stop them.

That night was a long one for the steel magus but through sweat, blood, determination and a lot of chocolate syrup he succeeded in the end.

Kiritsugu was truly proud of his son when found out.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

Huh… so I'm alive… guess that's a thing.

Hey guys long time no update, glad to be back. This once again took me a lot to write since battle scenes can be a real pain to write, you try to add different twist and elements to them so you often end up brainstorming for different ideas, I should know that I rewrote the fight with Shahnaz twice until it turned out decent enough.

Ok so I tried listening to my readers and tried to stop dragging this arc anymore that it should so I tried ending it in this chapter, however this chapter originally ended with over 35000 words and then I thought to myself 'How the fuck did this happen?!' so I decided to split it in two parts. Part two is done so expect it in about a week.

Now I could have scrapped the whole fight against that elf girl but after all the time and effort I put in writing that fight it would been a major waste on my part.

Now about this chapter, if anyone is going like 'Why the hell did Sairaorg drop by this chapter?! I'm not reading this anymore!' I have been foreshadowing his appearance for a while. It would have been stupid not to do it. Also about the Regulus Nemean, it is stated in the dxd canon that its original user went berserk and killed its master before the canon started. Now the term before is vague so it could have happen just a couple of days for all I care, so since this is a bit before the canon starts it just works together and since his former master was never mentioned i decided to make my OC be that master. I made it so it all worked in the context of events, if shirou never pissed out segrif he wouldnt have attempted the whole abduction right away and Regulus would have went berserk by himself and killed everyone. It all works if you think about it.

Regarding that **Jade Archery** sacred gear. Its basically Kiba's Sword birth but as a bow and arrow version.

If any of you are wondering how Shahnaz looks like in her battle armor, just google 'Shahdee' and click images. Yeah, her design is based on her.

I tried finishing it by Halloween but failed miserably so I hope it's not too late for the omake I made. FGO players will instantly recognize the costumes worn by homunculus ladies.

Speaking of FGO I have good news and bad.

Good news is that apparently some guy on reddit found a way to make FGO work on nox emulator again, so rejoice, those who wanted to play but were unable can now join, just look it on youtube there are some tutorials to how make it work.

Now the bad news. I HAVE E-RANK LUCK!

Seriously… I kept grinding for quarts and completely failed the Jalter banner, and if that wasn't enough I didn't get any other gold servant as compensation. Maybe the Merlin banner will be better… oh who am I kidding I will certainly bomb that one as well if I don't use paid quarts.

Well if anyone is interested in friend requesting me here you go: 514964531, but don't get your hopes too up, I've been playing for about two months so not much to offer, yeah… not even a single 5 star.

I thought I understood gatcha hell… I was so blind to the pure and utter abyss it truly was.

Anyway wait check for update next week, if not feel free to roast me.

* * *

 **Now about the NP's that appeared in this chapter:**

Special thanks for DPSS for suggesting this idea.

Ancile: The Eleven Forgeries

Owner: Mars/ The Salii

The shield of the Roman god Mars. One shield fell from heaven during the reign of Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome. He ordered eleven copies made to confuse would-be thieves. One of the Pignora Imperii, it was said that as long as Rome preserved the original shield they would be masters of the world. It is Rusty Red in color but is lined in gold. It is an oval roman shield arched inwards on both sides and it is worn on the elbow. Each shield has 12 stars on it, 4-pointed stars, six on the upper half, five on the lower half and one on the center. The original shield also has the symbol of Mars within the center star.

Type: Anti-Unit/Barrier

Rank: D Rank/ B Rank

Range: 0/30

Max Nº of Targets: 1/12

Under most circumstances, its power are very basic. The one who holds the original shield can manipulate the forgeries at will. As an Anti-Unit Barrier Noble Phantasm it is very cheap costing a very small amount of prana to maintain. The most problematic aspect of it is the mental exercise of controlling the 11 forgeries at the same time. However, this shield does have a more powerful ability. When in the heart of the Roman Empire (modern day city of Rome) it is possible to dismiss the forgeries and increase the defensive power of the original to one comparable to the original rampart walls of Rome. This protection however does not extend pass the original shield in any way, shape or form.

In regards to Shirou, it is an extremely useful NP. Not only is it cheap to maintain, it is also very cheap to Trace. Since it is only a single NP Shirou can essentially Trace 12 shields for the price of one. Does have its downsides though. Since the shield must be worn on the elbow to work, Shirou can only use two of this NP at once (only two elbows obviously). Also, while he finds the D Rank abilities of the shield very useful, it is not the case for the B Rank ability. Even if he meets the conditions to use it, he is unlikely to do so since not only would the protection only extend to the original shield, he must dismiss the forgeries to use it. Essentially, it is similar to sacrificing the protection of others to protect himself, a true anathema for Shirou.

* * *

Don't forget to review... no seriously review; I could use some constructive criticism.


	15. Wir sind der Jäger

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _I sat on the blazing sands._

 _Eyes sharp and focused to the distance._

 _The target took flight and was running away._

 _It was time to put things in order._

 _I shot the first bullet of many to come._

* * *

 **Chapter 15:**

 **Wir sind der Jäger**

* * *

''Go fuck yourself.''

Those words somehow kept repeating over and over in my head as I stared at the Sitri heiress.

This day I find just kept getting weirder by the minute.

I was under a lot of stress, the others also probably were as well but still we were somehow managing to keep things together somewhat. That being said, all of us were staring with eyes the size saucers at our student council's president sudden swearing. It also didn't help that she did it in such a monotone and direct way.

All of us were so taken aback that no one knew what we were supposed to even say in response. Somehow her best friend managed to work up some courage and call out to her. ''S-Sona…?''

''Sorry about that everyone, I had to act like he wanted to make him drop his guard.'' Sona explained as she dismissed the magic sigil and used her now free hand to arrange her glasses. ''Also I apologize for my swearing, I'm usually far more composed but I'm just a little bit _absolutely livid_.''

I didn't really dare to comment on this. To be fair though, any person would probably be pissed after going through what Sona experienced. Witnessing the sight of her friends and comrades beaten and bloodied must have only added even more fuel to her already blazing anger.

''H-How?!'' The haggard breath of the Zepar heir brought our attention back to him as he was struggling to pick himself up. Curiously he took a gem like object out of his pocket, fingers grasping it tightly. ''There's no way you could have resisted the power of the gem. You should have succumbed to its mind manipulation powers.''

''Correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't you say it yourself that the gem weakens a person's mental barriers in order to make them more susceptible towards manipulating ones mind?'' the Zepar heir gave a gruff nod at this, everything came into place with that bit of news, now we knew what he tried to do and why Sona was acting the way she did earlier. ''Have you ever considered that my mental defenses might be stronger than you estimated?''

He opened his mouth to protest, but seemingly stopped half way through, the realization hitting him quite hard.

''People often call my passion for chess and other brain games rather boring but they have another purpose other than simple entertainment, they help me train my mind, something that is crucial for one that is supposed to lead others. In time the gem probably could have perhaps weakened me enough for your half-baked brainwashing attempt to work properly, but by my estimate my peerage would have already reached us and stopped you.'' She stated with a proud smile. ''All I had to do was wait for the right moment when you thought you succeeded and simply act like it worked.''

The revelation made the man's face grow red in anger, throwing the gem that failed him aside in a fit of rage. ''Y-You contemptuous swine, you were messing with me this whole time!''

At his tantrum Sona couldn't help but let a small sadistic smile spread across her face, the sight of Segrif struggling to pick himself up must have felt rather pleasant to her. ''I wouldn't move that much if I were you Segrif, that blast damaged your spine, unless you want to aggravate it and make the damage permanent I suggest you stay put.''

''… Ha, ha!'' he chuckled bitterly as he glared at us with murderous eyes. ''You think this is enough to stop me?'' With an inhuman motion he straightened himself up. ''After all of the struggles that I went through, after all the humiliation, you think I will stop when I am so close?!''

To everyone's surprise he ripped his top off and revealed his naked upper body. Physically there wasn't anything to be envious of, overall he was skinny with not much muscle mass, but the thing that got my attention were the numerous scars present on his body. What was special about them was that they were far too clean and precise to be obtained from battle, or by accident, those scars came from something else.

There was an influx of demonic power around the bleeding wound on his back, the flesh around it seemingly coming alive and knitting itself back together. ''… He's healing?''

Reya was incorrect about this; his wound didn't heal per se, but rather it patched itself together, the strands of flesh forcefully reattaching themselves to each other.

Fixing the wound wasn't the end of it, the demonic energy spread quickly all over his body, with his muscles quickly gaining mass and hardening. After a bright flash of light the process was done and he now had a physique that would make Olympic body builders green with envy, but there was more to it than that. His chest, arms, back, and shoulders now had sharp spike like armor covering them. His teeth had grown into fangs, his fingers were sporting claws, and his knuckles were covered in bone like spikes.

I see… he did it to his peerage, so there was nothing stopping him from doing the same to himself. Now I knew what those scars on his body were, those were surgical scars.

''He is a chimera hybrid too?!''

I ignored the sudden pointing out of the obvious from Ruruko and instead changed my attention towards Sona, who to my own surprise seemed shocked to the core at what she was seeing. ''Segrif have you truly lost all reason?! You went and turned yourself into a chimera?!''

''… I told you didn't I?'' he chuckled arrogantly, somehow his voice became deeper after the recent transformation. ''In order to gain power and make my sorry excuse of a father acknowledge me I went out of my way and operated on myself. All it took was a lot of money, time, and a mountain of failed experiments. However I did it, I succeeded in perfecting the chimerafication process.'' He dramatically spread his arms towards the ceiling, like a scientist gloating about his discovery. ''It's still in its infant stage but in time I will gather enough resources and genetic materials to further enhance myself, I will become the perfect being!''

''Do you think you will get away with all of this?!'' Saji roared at the man that was the source of all we had to endure till this point. ''We may be beaten up but we can still kick your ass you doping son of a bitch.''

Perhaps it might have been easier to miss it before he transformed, but now that his muscles have bulked up his veins were also thicker and more noticeable; as such they were really throbbing when he heard the insults from our team's blonde pawn. ''Well then, I guess at this point trying to keep all of you alive is pointless.'' Segrif nodded to himself, he clearly just had enough of us. With a flick of his fingers several magic sigils spread around the room, from each sigil a figure was slowly emerging. ''So I will have you play with my little creations.''

Abominations.

That was the first word that came to my mind when I saw the mismatched visages of the creatures that appeared in front of us.

Beasts of various races I couldn't even recognize were meshed together into one single body, limbs and different parts that shouldn't belong there were present on each of them. Their eyes however were glowing red and contained a thirst for blood; claws and fangs were growing and sharpening in excitement for its new prey.

Unnatural monsters made in the image of the beast slayed by the mighty Bellerophon.

Chimeras.

At one point when we were making our way through the tunnels I did wonder that since the Zepar family apparently were well versed in the creation of chimeras it was somewhat weird that we didn't see or encounter any of them.

I really jinxed myself back then.

''Now then Sona, perhaps seeing your friends getting slaughtered in front of you will be enough of a shock to weaken those amazing mental defenses you possess.'' He lifted a hand up and a new magic seal appeared. Somehow my instincts kicked in and immediately I bolted right next to Sona.

When I reached her I honestly didn't know what I was doing, my body was acting on auto pilot in spite of the strain it was under. Next thing I knew I grabbed Sona and threw her towards Tsubaki-senpai and the others. A moment later some sort of wall type magic barrier was generated in the room separating me from everyone else.

''Shirou!'' Sona shouted as she unleashed a powerful blast of water at the magic wall separating us, but much to her own annoyance the barrier didn't even crack let alone shatter from her attack.

Segrif probably wanted to make Sona see her friends suffer and die while not being able to do anything to help them. To make her agonize in despair as her peerage were ripped limb from limb as he mentally drove Sona into a corner weakening her mind before trying to bend her to his will once again again. Not on my watch if I had anything to say about it.

''Once again you just have to be thorn in my side boy!'' I heard the man berate me in his usual arrogant tone but I chose to ignore him and instead focused on Sona as he continued talking. ''You know, ever since I met you I wanted nothing more than rip out those annoying eyes of yours.''

I scanned the other side of the barrier and counted the number of chimeras on the other side. The numbers didn't seem that good, with it being ten to one odds for the chimera's side. Given the current condition the others were in even if Sona joined in to help them I wasn't entirely sure if they could handle it. ''Guys do you have anything left in you to take care of the chimeras?''

Everyone looked at me for a brief moment before giving out a collective sigh, Tsubasa being the first to respond. ''You know Shirou, at this point I don't give a fuck anymore. So let's go all out and make that bastard fear the Sitri name.''

The blunt reply of the blue haired rook made everyone smirk as they picked themselves up and prepared for one last stand. I also had a small smirk of my own form on my lips, but it was just to reassure them, deep down I couldn't keep this uncomfortable feeling under control, as I was forced to let them fight the chimeras on their own leaving me with Segrif. There were probably other options I had, yet this was the best scenario I could think up on the spot. ''Then I will deal with Segrif.''

I was about to turn when I saw Sona knocking her fist on the barrier. ''Shirou wait! You're barely keeping yourself on your feet as is, fighting Segrif in that condition is far too reckless.''

I knew that...

What I was doing was outright stupid. I did manage to recover some Od in the few minutes between the fight with Shahnaz and now but it probably won't make up for all the wounds and overall fatigue I was currently wracked with.

Yet in spite of it all, there was no way I could stand down.

''I know you are concerned about me but the ones that need your help the most at this moment are the people behind you.'' I gestured to the others that preparing to fight the chimeras. ''We managed to scrape our way here with my half-baked plans, but with that number of chimeras and the others worn out as they are they need your help and guidance. I know you're frustrated by everything that happened and would like to take this guy on yourself, but please, leave this to me. I will make sure he will regret messing with the Sitri house.''

Violet orbs looked deep into my own, brows knitting together as her lower lip quivered in frustration. She probably wanted to find a counter argument to what I said but as things stood she knew deep down that there wasn't any other choice and I was right. Her head dropped down and her bangs covered her eyes, she stood there for a few brief moments before lifting herself back up and gazed at me once again.

''Geez, why do I have to deal with such a reckless idiot.'' She spat in frustration as she turned around and looked at the battle about to commence. ''I think fighting those beasts would be a good stress relief at the moment.''

She didn't turn around to look at me, but she gave me her last order before departing. ''Don't you dare die on me.''

''I will try, you be careful also.''

''Don't worry I don't plan on fighting those monsters.'' She threw her arms to side and her demonic energy flared violently. Several magic sigils spread around her and from them pillars of water erupted, almost immediately those pillars began compressing and taking form. In a matter of seconds those pillars had assumed various shapes of all kinds of animals and beasts, such as multiple hawks that flew in the air, serpents that slithered on the ground, a pride of valiant lions, wolves that grouped together forming a pack, and many other creatures. All of them ready to strike at her behest. ''I will shred them to pieces.''

She jumped on the back of a water horse and charged into the fray, her aquatic constructs following their creator, and slaughtering the first wave of chimeras.

As I witnessed all of this a smile formed on my lips.

Guess I wasn't the only one that's been training since the Kurosaiga incident.

I would have liked to watch her show off her new skills but I had one last job to do.

As I turned around I was greeted by the scrutinizing gaze of the Zepar heir. ''Facing me alone, there's a fine line between bravery and idiocy boy.''

''How peculiar.'' A dry chuckle escaped my lips in response to this. ''I don't know why myself, but ever since I first met you I had the unusual urge to punch you in the face. This is something I never really experienced with others, yet in this case I think I will make a special exception just for you Segrif.''

''Don't use my name so easily you low class filth!'' He raised his arm and pointed it towards me, bone like shards began shooting forth from his knuckles like a machine gun.

I immediately began evading the bony projectiles by running around the room while also scanning this section of the area for anything that could tilt the odds or work in my favor. At hand I only had a single pair of my twin blades, but I doubted they would be enough on their own. To my luck the other blades that I used against Shahnaz were still here and reachable. Bit by bit I was slowly recovering some Od as my heart continued to pound but it was still not enough for the long run, so any weapons I could collect and have at hand would be indispensable.

That was easier said than done though, Segrif wasn't going to let me gain any advantage and began using his other arm as well, instantly doubling the amount of fire power aimed at me. With the way he kept shooting I couldn't advance to any of my other blades that were scattered around and pick them up.

Well then, if he likes long range combat then two can play at that game.

As I dodged the bone shards I stabbed in the ground the twin blades I carried and traced my bow together with a couple of arrows I copied earlier, shooting back at him. The first arrow hit his shoulder and stopped the rain of shards, giving me the chance to shoot more arrows at him, nailing him in the leg, liver and chest.

There was a brief silence as Segrif stopped moving, yet something wasn't right.

The arrows hit their mark, but there was no blood.

I further reinforced my eyes to get a closer look, and grit my teeth at what I saw. The arrows appeared to have cut his skin but weren't able to reach pierce through the flesh beneath it. Apparently the sections of his body that weren't covered in bone armor were instead covered by a type of layer made of tiny almost unnoticeable scales, resembling something like biological chain mail.

Those arrows weren't normal ones either, they were **Shock arrows**. When they hit mark they discharge a powerful electrical surge, enough to carbonize the flesh on a normal human.

It didn't even flinch Segrif.

He was a chimera hybrid, which meant he could potentially possess many different traits from a mass assortment of creatures. There was no telling what else he could be hiding with his body.

A sly chuckle was heard as he straightened himself, then with a powerful flex of his muscles he pushed the arrows outside of his body. ''I don't know how you are obtained Eletha's arrows, but you will need more than that to injure me.''

I clicked my tongue and decided to try another strategy, tracing another arrow in my hand. I took aim shooting it at the ground in front of Segrif, the arrow exploded in a giant cloud of smoke and covered the area. Taking advantage of the smokescreen I dashed to recover my other swords while he couldn't see me.

It didn't take me long till I reached Kanshou, then I ran towards Bakuya, using its black counterpart to find it by relying on the twin swords attraction to one another. I followed the pull between the blades until I reached a pile of rubble where connection felt strongest, I immediately flipped the debris aside and found the white blade.

''Gah!''

The very moment my hand wrapped itself on the handle I felt several painful stabbing sensations on my back. My head turning slowly around only for my eyes to widen in shock, there were multiple bone shards stabbed in my back.

I tried my best to endure the pain and understand how this happened as I looked around. The smoke screen was still far too thick for Segrif to see anything from it. As I contemplated how he hit me I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the smoke, a few seconds later Segrif emerged from it and shocked me with his new trait. From the palm of his hand a long tentacle like appendage was growing upwards, and at the very top of it a large eye was glowing.

Dammit, he must have grew that thing until it reached the ceiling where the smoke hadn't spread and kept track of my every move while waiting for the right moment to strike.

''I guess that takes a whole new meaning to back stabbing doesn't it?'' the Zepar heir stated smugly as he grinned at my injuries.

I honestly didn't know what hurt worse as I barely repressed a groan, the wounds in my back or this guy's failed attempt at comedy.

A quick structural grasping of my own body put me on the edge. The spikes didn't pierce any major organ fortunately but with them in my back I will slowly bleed out from my wounds, I was already in a bad state to start with, now it was a race against time as to whether I could beat Segrif or weaken from the blood loss and die.

''Give it up boy, those precious swords of yours won't change anything.''

My eyes narrowed dangerously at him. ''These swords are all I need to defeat trash like you.''

I brandished both blades in hand and dashed at him, the other pair was strapped around my waist, the only thing left was to hope my body wouldn't break down before I could finish this fight.

Each step had me ducking and weaving, the hail of bone shards he was shooting at me was relentless, but from the way he aimed it was obvious he didn't take any marksmanship lessons from his knight, yet he made up for his low accuracy with a large number of continuous projectiles. Despite his ongoing attack however I continued to close the gap between us, but it wasn't easy, each time I dodged pain surged in my body from the open wounds on it.

When I reached him I saw the smile of my adversary faltering, I shifted my body and brought my blades down from a vertical angle. The bone armor on Segrifs arms seemingly liquefied and morphed into two long blades attaching themselves on the back of his arms, right in time to block my strike.

It annoyed me that those bone blades didn't shatter on impact. They must have belonged to some strong beast since they were able to trade blows with my blades. Yet, it gave me an unusual amount of pleasure seeing his face contort in pain from the sheer pressure the impact of my blows put on him.

Taking no time to waste I began exchanging strikes with the Zepar heir and with each blow I slowly realized the extent of his talent at close combat.

How talented he _wasn't_ at close combat that is.

He was barely managing to block my blades while I continued dealing damage to him, both from the blunt force of the exchanges, but also from the slashes he wasn't able to block slicing into his flesh. It was frustrating that his body was constantly patching itself back up whenever I cut him open, but there had to be a limit to how much damage he could take.

Especially considering how he was sweating and slowly gasping for air. Apparently someone had been avoiding stamina training that's for sure.

My swords and his bones clashed once again, reaching a standstill, but it wouldn't last long as I was slowly overpowering and pushing him back with every exchange. The only dissatisfaction I had was that I was forced to be so close to his face and that blue hair of his.

Huh?

 _Blue?_

I involuntarily blinked, why would I think that Segrif had blue hair when it really was black?

My distraction ended when I saw a light that was building up in Segrifs throat, one that was quickly rising to his neck. By sheer instinct I bent my neck at the very last second, narrowly avoiding a laser like blast that erupted from my opponent's mouth.

This unfortunately made we weaken my guard, giving the Zepar heir the opportunity to break our deadlock and jab his bone like blades at me.

Due to the positioning and lack of time I couldn't block the strike with my swords so I poured my strength into my legs and pushed myself backwards in a desperate attempt to dodge. My brows knitted in pain as I couldn't fully avoid the blow, my left side getting hit, leaving a deep gash right beneath my heart.

I stopped my fall with my palm and pushed myself aside, putting distance between me and the Zepar heir.

''Quite the desperate last stand you are putting up for a man with one foot in the grave.'' He chuckled in arrogance, perhaps as a means to keep his bravado going but he wasn't fooling me, he was definitely getting worn out.

I spit a bit of blood to the side, whenever it was because of the coppery taste or the disgust I felt for the man I wasn't too sure. ''The more I hear you speak the more I feel bad for Shahnaz-san, having to deal with the likes of you for such a long time.''

''Ah, Shahnaz yes, I truly struck gold with her. For those who work in experimentation knowing in advance even by a single minute what reactions will take place will save one months of work and resources. The breakthroughs of my research were all thanks to her. '' His eyes became glazed and sharp, gazing towards the barrier and at the passed out woman lying behind it. ''Though we will need to have words about losing to filth like you.''

Hearing him say that about the woman who dedicated her life to him and suffered so much because of it... At that very moment… something inside me snapped.

''No.'' I stated coldly, dashing forward, the adrenaline pumping through my veins causing the pain to numb. When I was close I jumped up high and did a spin in the air, pouring prana in my arms and blades to empower them as, throwing the twin blades at him, piercing through the armor like skin and jamming themselves deep in his flesh of his abdomen. I didn't give him any time to breathe, picking up the other pair of blades on my waist and dropping on Zepar with a powerful slash. He did try to block me but the force behind my fall added extra force to my blows, enough for my swords to cut through his bone blades. When my feet touched the ground I sprung upwards and stabbed my swords into his shoulders. Pushing him backwards and pinning him right on the nearby wall. ''You won't!''

He couldn't run away or dodge, and if my guess was correct he wasn't used to the arduous strain of combat. Whether it was the fatigue of battle or physical pain from injuries I could see the exertion apparent on his face. If that was the case then I'm going to keep giving him a heavy dose of both.

Making other weapons to do that at this point was just a waste of time and prana, all I needed was this body of mine. That being said I reinforced my fists and started pummeling him where he stood. Fists with force and hardness of sledgehammers began causing the man immense blunt pain, first it was his gut, the moment my fist buried itself in his flesh his eyes almost popped out of his skull together with his stomach contents. That sight really made me give in and start bashing his face in.

He tried to reduce the damage and formed a bone mask to protect himself but I only took that as a challenge to hit him harder. After about five hits with my fists it cracked open like a coconut revealing his face which was now left wide open. The scaly skin he had did offer him some protection towards piercing and slashing strikes but against blunt force damage they were only delaying the inevitable.

As my fists kept mutilating his face my mind couldn't help but wonder what was I even doing? It was confusing me, I never took it upon myself to make even bad people suffer and yet I was continually beating his face in with my fists. I could have easily delivered a precise strike to the back of his head knocking him out and getting things over with. There were many times before when I beat up bullies and delinquents but that was in order to protect others and set an example so they wouldn't do it anymore. Even at the time with Kurosaiga, when I saw him brutally beat up everyone I didn't feel the kind of animosity I held towards Segrif.

Why did he keep getting under my skin to such a degree?

And why was that whenever my fists made contact with his face for a very brief second I would see someone else in his place, a boy my age with blue seaweed like hair.

At some point he tried to use that laser blast with his mouth again, only this time I was expecting it. When I saw the glow rush from his throat to his mouth I grabbed his jaw and forcefully shut his mouth closed with an iron grip. Panic instantly became present in his eyes as his mouth and throat started glowing and swelling uncontrollably. At the very last moment when his body started to swell up and burst I jumped away, narrowly dodging the explosion that forcefully erupted from his mouth and throat.

I coughed heavily from the smoke that resulted from the explosion, the stench of burnt flesh and blood invaded my nose as my eyes narrowed at the person still pinned to the wall. As the smoke cleared I clicked my teeth as I saw him still struggling, the explosion while not very big in size certainly did a number on him. His front section of his throat and lower jaw were now gone, the bloody and gory insides were exposed for the world to see, yet somehow his tongue managed to survive the explosion but now only further empathized the ugly image before me with how it was dangling in the air.

The thing that truly bothered me though was the fact that his body was still trying to patch itself back together even after that. His demonic energy was surging violently in an attempt to close the gaping wound but that flesh wasn't closing up properly. A sense of foreboding hit me and I could feel that something was very wrong.

''No!'' He shouted, or it was more precise to say he hissed out of his wind pipe, I wasn't sure how he was still able to speak despite his disfigurement, whether his vocal chords were also part of his chimera traits and were more durable or he was using some kind of devil magic to speak I had no clue. What I did know was that his demonic energy and body were starting to go out of control. ''Not now of all times!''

There was an influx of demonic energy scattering wildly around him as his body began convulsing as if he was having a seizure, random muscle parts began starting to grow and expand uncontrollably at uneven sizes. The grown parts weren't something along the lines of buffing up, he was literally getting bigger and bigger, so big that he managed to forcefully detach himself from the wall with his size alone.

''Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! **STOP!** '' he cried desperately at his body to stop but it wouldn't listen to him, no matter he how much he begged. As his body kept expanding I backed away to avoid getting caught under it and stared at the giant that was forming before me.

I silently gulped as the growth somewhat stabilized but the end result wasn't pretty. What was once a man of my height now was a fifteen meter tall abomination; a giant blob of deformed flesh trying to keep itself up on its mismatched feet. It was a monster straight out of a horror movie, especially when one looked at its giant deformed face, the swollen eyes, and the hanging anteater like tongue in totality were truly disturbing to behold.

'' **Father! Why?!** '' He roared, the bone blade on his right arm kept mutating while also simultaneously growing as its changed form from a blade morphing into something resembling a spiked mace. Another thing that changed were his eyes, there was no longer any color in them, only two white sockets. That coupled with the sudden random outburst told me two things, his body was unstable and he was most likely going mad. '' **I tried to be a good boy, why won't you love me?!** ''

His empty eyes spotted me and his body quivered violently at my sight, thrusting his bone weapon directly towards me. I somehow managed to run away and avoid the blow, the size of the weapon making it easy to know where it would hit, but the force behind it was no joke. The whole room was sent shaking and the floor got severely damaged when that strike hit the ground. '' **I just wanted to make you proud! It's not my fault I wasn't born strong!** ''

What was he even on about?

I could tell that he wasn't in the best state of mind at the moment but what was all this he was growling on about?

'' **Sister!** '' He cried out in pain as he began thrashing his bone mace in all directions, causing destruction and mayhem everywhere he went as he smashed apart the surroundings. Suddenly he stopped and started grabbing his head desperately, rubbing it vigorously as he waltzed around dazed and confused. At one point his legs got tangled together causing him to fall down, resulting in a mighty tremor from the impact when he hit the ground, yet this didn't seem to matter to him as he kept on sobbing. '' **Why couldn't I kill you!? Why do I have to love you?!** ''

This whole display… what he turned into… those words he kept spouting, I slowly started to connect the dots and got a general idea of why he did what he did. One may sympathize with him once they understood the reasoning behind his actions. I could understand him at a certain level, the feeling of wanting to make your father proud of you, the desire to know if your loved… but it didn't really matter to me in this situation, and it didn't change how I felt about Segrif. All it did was just add one more reason to the pile of negative emotions I felt towards him.

''I can't help but pity you.'' I remarked bitterly as I watched him struggle on the ground. ''What was originally just simple wish twisted you to this degree.''

My words seemed to have caused more reaction than I wanted. His disfigured head lifted itself and glared at me with blood thirsty eyes. With a mighty push he put himself back up on his feet and raised his bone weapon dangerously at me. Snapping out of his madness and focusing his fury at me.

'' **DON'T PITY ME!** ''

The primal roar vibrated through the air as he crashed his mace, sending debris flying everywhere. I barely managed to dodge all the incoming slabs of stone and continued to think of how to beat this behemoth.

With how big he became I won't be able to bring him down the old fashioned way, so it looks like I will need to think outside of the box. Just like how aunt Maiya told me, I need to take everything in account, plan accordingly as I weigh my options, and note my surroundings on what to look out for or can be used to my advantage.

The room definitely had seen better days, and the way Segrif was rampaging about it, the room probably wouldn't last much longer either. It was a good thing the barrier he made earlier didn't come down when he lost control of his body, at the very least the risk of him going after the others was reduced.

That also means I can take Segrif down without fearing they will get caught in the cross fire.

Steeling myself I scanned the room for any good vantage points and to my luck there was one that was suited for what I had planned. Though considering the current state of my body and numerous injuries I had whether or not I can actually pull it off is questionable, I didn't have a choice but to risk it though. Time was running out and I can already feel myself getting weaker, my body will definitely be put to the test for this one.

I poured prana to my limbs and reinforced them to the very limits I was able to, not wasting time I proceeded running like the wind towards the broken staircase. When I reached the area I had in mind I jumped on the wall and pushed myself against it upon contact, spinning myself in the air and started side running along the wall to the reach the other side of the broken staircase. Forcing my way through with sheer momentum I wasn't able to land properly on it and almost fell down, I barely managed to grab hold of the edge with my hands at the last second. Pulling myself up right away, I narrowly avoided getting squashed by the bone mace of Segrif who took notice of me. The shock waves from his attack made it hard to maintain my balance and footing but I couldn't afford to fall now. Even more so since I wasn't sure that if I did fall now if I would be able to get back up at all.

As I ran up the damaged staircase I found I was smirking to myself as Segrif came chasing after me; though the danger increased because of it I was also spared me of the trouble of baiting him to my location. I was on my last legs already, the quicker I get this done the better. I shortly reached the top of the staircase and soon after came face to face with the giant disfigured mug of the Zepar heir.

I climbed the railing and took notice of the swing the monster was preparing; when the bone mace was unleashed I prepared myself for worst, when it was a few meters away from me I jumped forward towards the mutated giant. While in the air I traced another pair of my favorite blades, and braced myself for a rough impact. To my abysmal luck the walking mass of flesh decided to try and avoid me, so my target had shifted from where I planned to land and I ended up stabbing my blades into his shoulder instead. An action which caused the monstrous goliath to scream in pain, causing him to swing around wildly in a desperate attempt to fling me off; so naturally I could only hold onto my blades in desperation hoping my grip wouldn't fail me as I struggled to keep hold.

When he saw that it wasn't working he used his free hand to grab me. The moment his fleshy fingers wrapped themselves around me I pulled one blade out his shoulder and stabbed it in his hand, eliciting another shriek of pain from him, so much so that he threw me upwards just to get rid of me rather than crush me himself.

That was a massive mistake on his part, in fact he accidentally helped me out.

When I began descending back down I managed to catch onto the skin under his eyes. Considering how much it had swollen from the beating I gave it earlier it would have been hard to miss.

I stared the monster literally in its eye, positioning myself briefly as I was about to take away the light of that eye, Kanshou being the last thing it would ever see in this world.

It roared in anguish as the black blade pierced its eye, bringing his hands up desperately to get rid of me. I didn't give him the pleasure of grabbing me this time and I let go of my blade, letting myself fall down. Although I was falling I had no intention of directly falling to the ground alone. For one thing, I wasn't sure if my body could handle the shock or strain simply collapsing on the spot upon landing. With that in mind I steeled and prepared myself for a slimy experience.

I grabbed Segrif's giant hanging tongue and held onto it like a lifeline. Not wasting any time I began building my momentum swinging left and right, using the disgusting organ as an improvised rope. When I gathered enough momentum I let go and started running against his deformed collar bone, reaching up to his right shoulder.

Once again the Zepar heir felt the cold touch of my blades on his body. Trying desperately to throw me off his pierced shoulder but was having a difficult time considering that I blinded him on that side. As his hand came at me I ran over to his neck, reaching his other shoulder and stabbing it similarly to its right counterpart.

The pain was becoming unbearable for Segrif and he tried to grab me once again, only this time I wasn't giving him any shots at squashing me, the moment his hand came in close I slashed his index finger clean off, causing him to shriek even louder in agony as waterfalls of blood erupted from the open wound.

As he was busy trying to deal with the pain from losing his finger I ran over to his neck once again and climbed up his head using his hair as make shift support. When I reached the top I slid myself down the front and took a large swing with Bakuya, stabbing it into his left eye, taking away his remaining source of vision.

The stumbling of the behemoth intensified as he couldn't see anymore; running in complete disarray as he swung his bone club wildly about both left and right.

It was now time I finally put down this monstrosity before my adrenaline completely ran its course causing my body to crash.

I slid down on his belly and landed underneath him, immediately pulling back to avoid getting crushed by the rampaging abomination. When I was far enough I traced yet another pair of my twin swords expending my Od nearly to its limits and waited for the perfect timing. My eyes were fixed on the legs of my opponent. The very moment he turned his back on me I threw both blades at him, the blades became razor sharp whirlwinds cutting the air and flesh they encountered on their path.

An agonizing shriek echoed throughout the room as the blades severed both of his Achilles tendons, not wasting any time I lifted my hands and grabbed the blades that returned spinning to me, dashing forward to the monster that had lost its footing and was quickly coming crashing down.

Jumping atop from one raised slab of debris onto another I made my way to the falling body and with one strong leap I landed on Segrif's calf landing on the bloody and greasy road of flesh and running all the way towards the nape of his neck. I struggled to keep my footing on the slippery surface as I was gasping for air while fighting through the constant pain and burning sensation my body was currently in. Every breath I took felt like it may be my last and every step forward was sluggish and heavy but still I pushed on.

One may call me a complete nut job to try and take down a monstrous giant of this caliber with just Kanshou and Bakuya, however there was something I realized along the way. The swords that I used to initially pin him against the wall were never pushed out of his body when he transformed, instead they were absorbed inside his new body as his flesh grew and expanded.

That meant they were still there.

As my foot stepped on the nape of the goliath beneath me I positioned my twin blade at the very center, closing my eyes and concentrating I felt out for my blades. Every weapon I trace is like an extension of my own will, if I wish for them to disintegrate back into prana it will happen regardless of the distance between us. That being said I am always linked at a certain level to everything I trace, as I am the very power source for them to exist.

I could feel them, a faint pulsation like my very own heartbeats. There were two sources in my hands, two wrapped around inside his flesh, several in the distance on the other side of the barrier, and the ones I traced and gave the others to use. It was a strange feeling, even though I am supposed to only feel the weapons, I can also feel them being used at this very moment, that little tidbit put me at ease, knowing that the others were still alive and fighting on.

All the more reason to end this and go help them.

I increased my focus, trying to locate my lost weapons within the sea of deformed flesh. It wasn't an easy feat; the amalgamation of mutated demonic flesh was making it feel as if I was I searching through a violent snowstorm for the main road.

 _Badum! Badum!_

There! It was faint but I could feel them!

'' **Trace Overedge!** '' I muttered as I channeled the last remains of my prana, keeping myself reinforced to deal with such a behemoth of a monster left me almost dry, but I still had probably enough left in me for one last stunt. The blades I held were stabbed deep into Segrif's flesh, making him realize in between his grunting that I was on his back. While he did try to throw me off it was already too late, neon cylindrical marks had spread over his neck section creating a link between the weapons I held and the ones buried deep within the flesh. '' **Burst!** ''

Blood erupted like an artesian fountain from the neck area, the now Overedge variation of the twin married swords shredding their way outside from within his body. A choking breath was heard as the giant finally went silent, its mutated body stopped thrashing down on the floor like a puppet that got its strings cut.

I scanned the body for ten long seconds, there was no more reaction from it, either it was dead or out cold. Whatever the case may be, it was finally quiet.

Wait… quiet?

I jumped up and off him walking a few meters away, staring into the distance behind the barrier, I saw Tomoe waving weakly at me with a very strained smile. Her clothes and body had seen better days, but she didn't seem in any life threatening condition. Right behind her was everyone else sporting similar states of exhaustion and wounds, even Sona who was the last to join the fray was pretty roughed up.

I could see the sea of chimera corpses surrounding them as I headed to them, a tired but relieved smile began forming on my face.

I involuntarily raised my hand cupping my mouth, a dry chuckle escaping my lips in ease, a heavy weight getting lifted off my shoulders as I saw that they were all alright and alive.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but I owe one to Segrif for creating that barrier, if not for it keeping us separated they would have most likely got caught up in the Zepar heir's rampage while fighting the chimeras.

Odd… now that I think about it… Segrif is out and yet…

The barrier was still active.

Out of nowhere the color in every single one of the Sitri peerage's faces drained away and dread filled in its place. ''Shirou, behind you!''

 _Shunk!_

There was no time to react. Seeing everyone safe made me relax far more than I should have, so much so that I involuntarily let my guard down, opening me up for an unguarded direct attack.

Blood erupted violently from my mouth, a hot dampness was spreading from my upper body all the way down to my legs, my trembling eyes slowly looking down at my chest, at the massive bone like spear erupting from it.

''Nooooooo!'' I heard someone scream in despair, yet my ears couldn't make out who it was, the ringing sound in them made it impossible to do so.

My head struggled to turn back, it was almost mechanical how it managed to turn and look at the source of my predicament. The neck section of the deformed giant was shredded and butchered beyond repair, and yet there was still something there. Hanging merged within the walls of bloodied flesh with my swords stabbing through his mangled body he laid there bare, an utter victorious smirk present on his lips. ''H-Ha, ha, you're dead kid.''

Segrif was still alive.

Somehow he managed to reform his original body within the sea of mutating flesh, narrowly avoiding certain death.

My eyes then stumbled across his extended arm pointing at me, at the bone member that connected us.

His bone spear had pierced through me shredding both my lungs and my heart.

Air no longer had any place to go, blood no longer had an engine that made it circulate.

Everything went black as my arms fell lifelessly around my body.

I lost.

* * *

 _Huh?_

Wait…

Didn't everything go silent?

I felt something…

It was a warm feeling…

Like the warm sands of a beach tickling all over my body.

I knew this feeling… I've experienced it many times today… no way… she didn't.

My vision slowly returned, arms gaining back their strength and organs began restoring themselves.

I saw them… the golden sands dancing around me, the very mark of founding Zoroastrian God Zurvan's power.

My body wasn't responding to my orders, it was doing all of this forcefully. My head was turning back forward to see the horrified face of my comrades, faces which were becoming less and less horrified with each passing second to the point that their color returned. The blood that splattered on the floor when the strike was dealt was levitating and returning to the wound, the spear itself retracting and leaving way for the flesh to restore itself to its original state.

I blinked in astonishment as everything had been rewritten and a moment later time resumed.

Out of nowhere the color in every single one of my friends faces drained away and dread filled them in its place once again. ''Shirou, behind-''

I jumped away with whatever strength I could muster, barely managing to avoid the surprise attack from Segrif. My arm was nicked however, with a deep laceration present on it but compared to the hole I 'had' moments ago, this was a mere paper cut in comparison.

As I crashed roughly on the floor I managed to turn myself around and glare at the Zepar heir, right in time to witness the utter shock forming on his disfigured face. ''T-This is… **Dustan's Dagger**?!''

His eyes went a feral red, the veins in them throbbing as they drifted towards the barrier. At the very spot where the woman he knew as his Queen was leaning up against, her body was struggling to stay up, and her face contorted in the most pained expression I have ever seen. Her tears were pouring down on the glowing dagger she used to save me. ''I'm sorry.''

The woman that all this time had been fighting for her master's sake has finally chosen to do what she believed was the right choice, and yet doing so was a painful task for her. Her sense of morality and duty clashing with each other, ripping her on the inside as she saved the one boy she was supposed to kill and truly betrayed the man who gave her life meaning.

''Shahnazzzzz!'' The roar was no longer anything rational, but pure animalistic blood lust. The desire to rip her to shreds for daring to betray him in such a way was palpable. His once limp body became invigorated once more, the giant hand raising itself to catch and squash the traitorous Queen.

In a single moment, blood and gore was sprayed all over the barrier. Shahnaz's trembling eyes stared in disbelief at the arm and chest section of her master that seemingly got shredded into a bloody paste. ''Gahhhhhhhhhh!''

The only screams of agony that were heard were those of Segrif Zepar. Those and the sound of deformed flesh sizzling fast, the wound inflicted on him was akin to a powerful acid, burning viciously and spreading at an alarming rate.

My arm was hanging in the air pointing at the man, steam rising from it as if someone poured water on red hot iron. It happened in an instant, so fast that I myself couldn't properly register it.

There shouldn't have been any prana left to produce something of that scale. There was no involvement from my mind. The only thing that reacted was my body alone, instantly tracing and somehow blasting several weapons in his path, with a force so great that it was like Segrif had shoved his hand inside a meat grinder.

The weapons didn't stay for long.

The moment they finished their job they evaporated into thin air, not even lasting long enough to get a proper look and structural grasp them.

I didn't see them properly, but it knew what they were.

 _Holy swords._

However whatever happened was irrelevant at this point, something inside me simply flipped on, there was a single directive in my mind.

 _Protect._

''You will hurt her no longer!'' I roared as I glared at the monstrous man, slowly walking towards him with my worn out half broken body.

The glare I had must have been something else as he began cowering in fear with every step that I took. That or he came to the conclusion that the weapons I just used on him were enough to kill him for real. The current case being the way his flesh was disintegrating with every breath unable to restore itself.

Fear finally began taking over and he started struggling against his own fleshy construct. Sprouting bone blades to cut himself free from the flesh that bonded him to the goliath body. The sound of my footsteps drawing ever nearer was making him panic even further and doing a sloppy job of it, until finally he simply elected to forcefully rip himself free.

His body fell down with a loud thud, and immediately began trying to crawl away from me. His legs kept attempting to patch themselves back to functioning state as he clawed his way in a desperate gambit to escape.

Such a pitiful sight...

If only my body wasn't so messed up I could have ran up and caught him to end this farce once and for all.

I was only a couple of steps away from him, however as rotten luck would have it his legs somehow patched themselves together with enough flesh and bone to stand up once again. He turned around and waved his tangled hand in front of me, a magic seal flashing and an object getting blasted from it. ''You're not the only one with holy weapons.''

I tried to dodge but found my body unable to react, my eyes could only study the incoming glass vial, and it appeared to contain some kind of glowing water.

''Shirou, that's holy water! Don't let it touch you!'' I heard Tsubaki-senpai scream from afar.

Holy water… of all things it had to be that. I never came across any of it since I became a devil, but from what I previously read it was very deadly to devils, akin to getting splattered by searing magma.

Dammit… my body was far too messed up to move out of the way.

I could only pray that it wouldn't be enough to stop me.

Glass shattered on impact and water splattered all over my face as I braced myself for the worst.

The reaction was almost instant.

My eyes blinked confused.

The holy water didn't burn me at all.

Either Segrif was scammed with a very good fake, or I wasn't affected by it at all.

Such a thing… should be impossible right?

My fists clench as I saw my target still moving. Dammit, now was not the time for worrying!

''He's escaping.'' I gnashed my teeth as I saw Segrif open a hidden door in one of the walls, leading to the desert outside with the crimson sands blowing with the wind.

His body mutated once again, two grotesque mangled devil wings forming on his back, but functional enough to successfully take him up in the air.

As I saw him begin to fly away something in me seemingly snapped and I couldn't keep myself or my voice under control making yell out in a rage. ''Shinji!''

I tried to force my body to move faster but it was barely functional with every muscle seemingly strained, however that wouldn't have made much of a difference since I lacked even the basic devil wings to go after him. ''Dammit I won't reach him in time!''

After all that happened… after all the physical and mental pain everyone was put through… after the numerous times someone almost died… was I about to let the cause of it all escape?

No fucking way!

Risks be damned, I will not let him get away!

Once more!

My body trembled uncontrollably as I traced my bow and took position. My breath ragged and uneven as I focused myself putting everything I have into this last act.

Just one last projectile!

Don't break on me my body!

 _Search start._

Something… anything that I can shoot with this bow, a sword, an arrow, it doesn't matter.

 _Searching…_

Something that will take him down in one blow.

 _Searching…_

A projectile I can shoot, a shot that will reach him no matter where he goes, something that will hunt him down to the ends of the world.

 _Match found._

 _The Hound of the Red Plains seeking for blood, always trailing after it._

''Gahhhh!'' I roared in pain from the strain that erupted in my body, once again I felt like a red hot iron was shoved down my spine and twisted repeatedly. My eyes could barely keep track of Segrif with how they were cringing in pain and my vision turned hazy but still I pushed on and traced my last weapon.

'' **Steel is my body and fire is my blood.''**

Neon energy danced around my hand as my sword materialized. Although calling it a sword was a bit of a stretch considering how it looked. The shape was like a pitch-black spear with a few small edges coiling around the thin core, spiraling around it and somewhat curving outward. The modification it had undergone through altercation had taken away most of its usage in a sword fight, however it made it able to be used as a projectile instead.

No time for a broken phantasm, couldn't have made one anyway, my prana levels are zero, but it is not required in the first place.

All I need is one good arrow.

'' **Sick him.** '' I muttered and took aim, struggling to pull the string back as crimson demonic aura began leaking from the projectile. Perhaps by some kind of instance of dumb luck Segrif seemed to have reacted when my weapon began generating demonic aura. At that moment he must have felt death creeping upon him and attempted a last ditch effort to save himself. In a strained jumble of movements he activated a magic circle underneath him, my teeth gnashed in frustration when I saw the letter formation on it and recognized them. It was a teleportation circle, he was about to escape.

It was now or never.

I tried pulling my arm back but stopped mid-way.

My body stopped moving as it reached its limit, my arm seemingly got jammed into place and refused to move a single inch further. The wound I got when I dodged the last attack, made it so my arm was unable to function properly and draw my bow to its full length. In addition the slow but constant blood loss from my back I suffered near beginning of the fight further sapped my strength.

Anger boiled in me at that very moment as I realized that I couldn't shoot my arrow and there was no time to switch hand's. Even if this arrow doesn't require an accurate aim to hunt its target it still needed a powerful force to fire it properly. If I can't generate enough firing power it wouldn't matter Segrif Zepar would escape.

 _Bang!_

A gun shot echoed through the desert, blood erupted from Segrif's throat the very next moment. Whatever happened didn't truly matter, since the shot was enough to interrupt Segrif just as he was about to teleport away.

Someone just bought me an extra five seconds, something I wasn't going to let go to waste.

My arm still refused to budge and I didn't have the time to change arms.

I had to improvise on the spot.

With no other idea coming to my mind I bit down around the wrist of my drawing arm. If my arm wasn't able to pull all the way through I decided to use my teeth for it. The taste of copper filled my mouth as my teeth dug their way into my flesh and I tasted my own blood, with one final push helping me climb the very last step towards the summit I took aim.

My fingers let go of the string, demonic energy igniting as the projectile fired off. A breath of ease escaped my mouth at that moment as I knew that it was checkmate.

Dodging something rushing at you at Mach 10 speed would be quite the challenge after all.

I let go of my hand and spit out a mouthful of blood, gazing as the weapon shredded its way towards Segrif with unimaginable speed, blood had begun to rain on the desert sands as the weapon ran through his chest without any resistance and bursting forth from the other side in a bloody mess. The Zepar heir finally went silent, his broken and mangled body fell down on bloodstained sands.

'' **Hrunting…** ''

A sword that was always seeking blood, aiming for the spot where it can obtain most of it, always guiding the wielder to strike it no matter how untalented or inexperience he may be.

It was the weapon of a hero from one of the oldest epic poems of English literature.

A weapon belonging to the Geatish hero who had slayed monsters like Grendel and its mother saving a kingdom in the process.

No long or fancy name needed, for he never cared for either.

He was known simply as Beowulf.

* * *

Now that he was finally down I could properly think again and there was one thing that I had to see. With great effort I managed to move through the broken wall and get a look outside. Someone had shot Segrif before which meant they could still be around.

I looked around in the distance for any trace of life, to my own surprise I saw someone, far away from our location. There wasn't much I could make out with what I was seeing, just a person wrapped from head to toe in black cloaks with a sniper rifle tied to his back and if the overall size and frame of said person was any indication it was a male.

For some reason I think I saw that person before.

There was a heavy moment when he seemed to take notice of me. No reaction was shown, he simply turned around to walk away.

''Wait!'' I roared on top of my lungs to get his attention, stopping in his tracks. His head turned around and gazed in my direction, no features visible through the hood that covered his face. ''Who are you?''

No answer.

All he did was point his hand towards Segrif and nudged his head.

I looked at that direction and took a moment and thought about it, Segrif seemed out of commission at the moment but he could always wake up if left alone and still do an emergency teleportation. I had to make sure and secure him first lest all my effort be in vain.

When I turned back to the mysterious sniper, I only saw the empty dessert as he was gone.

I sighed and started trudging my way towards Segrif, even though there were so many questions I had they could wait till later.

* * *

When I dragged Segrif back in the base and tied him up my body finally couldn't take the abuse anymore and fell down to the floor. The harsh landing aside, the cold floor was a welcomed treat for my burning body. As much as I detest Segrif, I have to give him credit for how durable he was able to make his body with his experiments, any other devil would have died a long time ago with those kind of wounds, even Kurosaiga wouldn't have survived having his chest skewered by Hrunting. While he lacked the skill and ability that the deceased stray devil had, he made up with up with his insane durability and constant regrowth.

I can't help but fear what could have happened if any of the others would have faced him instead. With how his body was not even a single one of them could have put him and I was the only one who had the means to do it.

Things really turned in my favor when his body began mutating, he was in a state that can no longer be classified as anything but a monster, and that was when Kanshou and Bakuya truly shined as they possessed a unique anti-monster propriety within their blades, making it so their cutting power skyrocketed against him and each cut inflicted by them caused unimaginable pain and damage to the deformed flesh giant.

I noticed it before with Kurosaiga, they seem to cause some minor pain and damage to devils when they cut them, but nothing unmanageable. As such their power wasn't in full effect before he began mutating, it was only after he lost control of his body that my swords gained the needed advantage.

Huh… now that I think about it I wonder how a fight between Segrif and Kurosaiga would have went. In terms of skill and ability Kurosaiga outclassed him but that nasty regeneration Segrif had could keep him going. Though, now that I think about Kurosaiga could've use the Senkyouka wave attack to destroy his body completely, if he spammed it over and over again it would have let Segrif with literally nothing left to regenerate. However if Segrif mutated in that giant abomination before Kurosaiga finished him off things might have turned differently considering that Kurosaiga had a pretty straight forward approach to battle and he might have tried to fight the blob of flesh head on but that would have been reckless and he could've been taken out in an instant if the deformed Segrif landed even one good blow.

Man… thinking about all of this was tiring. I guess that in battle the one that is the strongest doesn't always win.

As I stared at the broken ceiling I heard footsteps approaching. With a tired sigh I asked as they reached me. ''Is it over?''

Tomoe scratched her cheek awkwardly at my question, getting rid of some dried blood she had on her face. ''Well we defeated the chimeras and took down the big bad boss, so I think that's a wrap.''

She did have a point, however the experiences we went through today was making me skeptical of leaving my guard down.

Saji helped prop me against a wall, he also wasn't looking too good. With how his shirt was shredded and the lacerations were placed on his abdomen it looked like the chimeras tried playing Tic-tac-toe on it but failed miserably. ''You still alive and kicking Emiya?''

''… I think I am.'' I answered a bit uncertain, considering that I have wounds that would have killed a regular person many times over and I am still conscious I'm quite surprised I didn't pass out a while ago.

He simply nodded and crashed next me, letting out an exhausted sigh.

The moment really didn't last long as he instantly bolted away, in fact the others did the same and made way for our King to walk in front of me. Given the arctic glare she was directing at me I honestly couldn't hold it against Saji for bailing on me like that.

With how messed up and exhausted I was I couldn't really give a damn anymore so might as well get this over with. ''… You're a pathological reckless idiot, you know that don't you?''

''S-Sorry about that master.'' I muttered awkwardly as I tried to rub the back of my head, but cringing as I touched a bone shard that was stabbed in my back instead.

The Sitri heir crossed her arms and continued to glare at me. ''I'm honestly struggling to decide if I should congratulate you for taking command of the group and keeping everyone alive or reprimand you for getting yourself half killed in the process.''

That seemed fair, given how many mistakes I made today I kind of deserved it. ''Ok… so what will it be?''

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, she was clearly as tired as I was. ''I'm not even going to bother, right now everyone is exhausted and beaten up, I'd have to be a total bitch to nag at you now.'' She threw me one last icy glare before she went on. ''Don't think you're off the hook though, when your back to full health you're in for a lot of complaining.''

Even though I knew that will be a drag, I couldn't help but chuckle lightly. ''Now that's the Sona Sitri I know.''

The arctic glare had seemingly melted and in its stead a warm smile formed.

''All of that aside… I talked to Tsubaki and she told me of all you had to do and endure to make sure that everyone survived.'' Before I could even talk or react she knelt down in front of me and pulled me in a hug, my head resting on her shoulder. I was taken aback by the sudden display of affection from Kuoh's resident Ice Queen. The feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment were forming at an alarming rate but they subsided when I felt something warm drip on my neck. ''Thank you, for staying alive and keeping everyone safe, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.''

There wasn't much I could say in this situation, I simply returned the hug and patted her on the back in silence not wanting to ruin the moment for her.

The embrace didn't last long as Tsubaki-senpai let out a dry cough in her hand, causing Sona to instantly put some distance between us, her face looking in any other direction besides the one I was in.

Okay… things were now really awkward, so might as well change the subject. ''So what are we supposed to do now?''

Tsubaki-senpai cupped her chin and pondered for a bit. ''No clue, Sona what is the standard procedure for dealing with the aftermath of an abduction?''

''Honestly I'm as lost as you are.'' Sona admitted as she was back to her normal serious self. ''I guess we should try to inform the proper authorities about everything.''

Well that made sense, after all that we went through there will probably be a lot of repercussions. At least for the Zepar house since Segrif was the one responsible for everything. That made me remember something important and scanned the room looking for her. I spotted her resting against a wall, passed out and yet her expression seemed so peaceful. With a bit of effort I managed to raise my hand and point at Shahnaz. ''What about her?''

Everyone went silent and pondered on my question. If I would have asked this earlier there wouldn't have been any room for doubt in their minds but after what she did it shattered whatever impression they had of her before, even for me.

She was our enemy, one that fought, blocked, and hurt us and yet she threw away everything and condemned herself by betraying her master, by saving my life when she could have easily just run away when things started going south.

The others were truly conflicted because of this.

''… I'm not certain what will happen to her Shirou.'' Sona admitted somewhat disappointed. ''She used her powers and saved you from certain death, something I will never be able to repay her for, but it won't change her involvement with what happened today. All of this isn't some minor incident that can simply be written off, there will be an investigation and trial for what happened.'' She took a moment and rubbed the bridge of her nose, the prospects of what will probably take place was obviously giving her a headache. ''She may not be pardoned but at the very least we can try to get her punishment lessened.''

I bowed my head and stared at the ground, my hand tightening in a fist.

This wasn't fair… it wasn't fair at all. After everything she went through and was forced to endure she finally stood up and did what she wanted to do for herself, no order or duty involved, just her very own desire to do the right thing.

In spite of that she still had to face trial.

I had to do something.

 _Boom!_

The room shook violently as the sound of an explosion reached us. I instantly looked over towards the next room and I saw through the opened door that Segrif was still out cold so it wasn't his doing. It was someone else. ''What was that explosion?!''

''It was like a meteor just crashed near us!'' Momo yelled as she tried to keep herself up.

I focused and used the tiny bit of Od I recovered to reinforce my ears. There was a stomping sound approaching, like someone riding a horse but it was somewhat different. There wasn't any of the hard noise made by the hoofs, it felt softer, like a paw or something. My eyes widened as I just remembered what happened earlier, and the beast we left in the lower levels. ''Guys… didn't we forget about someone down there?''

Everyone looked confused at me, Sona especially, the others however quickly realized who I was referring to. Before any of them could answer there was a loud noise and from a nearby wall the majestic golden lion came crashing through.

I momentarily prepared to trace a sword but stopped when I saw the man on top of the lion. Sairaorg Bael was riding the Nemean lion like a mighty battle steed.

''Sairaorg?! What are you doing here?'' Sona asked in shock as she saw who was approaching, huh, Tsubaki-senpai must have omitted the part where Sairaorg dropped by and saved us. Her eyes were one step from popping out of her head as she saw what Sairaorg was riding. ''And is that the Nemean lion?!''

From the lack of blood lust in the lion, I could only deduce that the Bael heir had managed to tame it, whether it was by force or common understanding I didn't know but it was clear that the two of them went all out before that happened. Sairaorg's was covered from head to toe in giant claw and bite marks that would have put down a regular man a long time ago, while the Nemean lion was covered with every inch of fur with blood and bruises, some of its fangs were broken in half, his paws was missing a majority of its claws, and it's left eye was so bruised and swollen that it was forcefully closed shut.

While both of them were quite injured they seemed to be concerned by something else entirely. Sairaorg Bael the man that generated this aura of confidence and sheer masculinity was displaying a very disturbed expression, a combination of primal fear and concern.

Heck even the lion looked terrified.

As the lion landed in front of us as the Bael heir looked dead serious, never bothering to get down from his seat, not out of arrogance, but rather trying not to waste any time. ''Look there's no time to explain we need to out of here now!''

''What's going on?'' Sona asked in complete confusion, but who could blame her since she had no idea what Sairaorg was even doing here.

''I told you there is no time! She can be here in any-''

The world itself had turned cold.

It was like I was suddenly dragged from a warm field to the freezing plains of Antarctica. The very core of my being was shivering at this unknown malevolent presence I was suddenly feeling.

''W-What is that power?!'' was all I managed to mutter as I tried to keep myself together, something which the others were all failing to do, everyone else with the exception of Sona and Sairaorg were down on their knees crumbling under the intense pressure that was getting stronger with every passing the second.

This power was like nothing I ever felt before, even the time Vincent Ronove displayed some of his strength wasn't anything close to this scale.

'' _ **Emiya Shirou… if you have even the slightest spec of value towards your life, run, run while you still can.''**_

Shit…

If even Archer was scared of this unknown power then we were in a danger beyond mere words.

As I struggled to stay on my legs I glanced over at my master and saw the expression of fear on her face that I had never seen before on her, a sort of fear that was deeply carved into her mind. Her eyes were trembling as she was muttering over and over again. ''N-No… not her… anyone but her…''

''It's getting closer!'' Ruruko screamed in fear as she grabbed onto Saji's arm desperate for any form of protection and security.

I looked over at the Bael heir for some answers but hesitated, although he was keeping an overall stoic impression I could see the large bullets of sweat running down his face, even the mighty lion was trembling in fear. ''… Sairaorg-san what is that thing?''

There was a loud explosion in the other side of the room, a wave of arctic cold rushed over us the moment the wall was taken down. The lion rider could only gulp as he answered. ''… Winter is coming.''

* * *

 **Insert Ost- Hunter x Hunter Rasetsu**

* * *

For a brief second, my heart had stopped beating.

The image I saw of the 'thing' that emerged from the smoke had shocked me to my very core. I didn't know what it was, it resembled a person at first glance but it was impossible to make out its features. Its body was shrouded in a veil of pure demonic energy, dancing around at immeasurable speed, like blue and black smog, yet giving it an appearance of something ripped out of a most horrible nightmare. Each step it took would freeze the spot where it touched, spreading around the room like a disease that wanted to freeze everything to death.

Whatever self-control I had over my emotions in times of crisis seemingly crumbled under the pressure exuded by this thing. I couldn't contain my voice and simply shouted in fear. ''W-What is that thing!?''

Everyone looked the same, scared beyond words. The only one who appeared to still have some composure left was Tsubaki-senpai that placed her hand over her face and muttered. ''… We're fucked.''

The thing scanned the room, the place where eyes should be had two white swirling lights in its place instead. They focused on Sona for a moment, its disposure seemed to relax by a small degree but the sheer bloodlust oozing from it wasn't quelled one bit. A slit formed in the area where the mouth was normally at, and a distorted voice slowly hissed. '' **Where is he?** ''

Each word was like a whip of ice, no one dared to speak, even if they knew the answer to the question of this abomination. Sona lifted her hands up in a surrendering manner, but they still trembled in fear. ''W-Wait please everything is over, there's no need to-''

The thing glared at her for a brief second, silencing her. It then looked around us and scanned each of us, her focus stopping when it reached me. It lifted its arm and pointed at me. ' **'You, pretty boy!** ''

I gulped silently, looking at the others hoping that I was just imaging it and there was some other male in the room that fell in the 'pretty boy' category. ''I-Is she referring to me?''

'' **Where is he?** '' the thing whispered in its distorted voice, my eyes widening as I realized that the thing just warped in front of me. My head turned slowly at it and my blood ran cold, any bit of sweat I had on my body was quickly turning to ice. When the thing saw that I wasn't answering she grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me down to its level. It would have looked funny considering the thing was quite small, but in this case this act only terrified me further as I gazed into the swirling white abyss of its eyes. My shirt had already turned to slab of ice and my body was following suit at rapid pace, at this rate I would become a Popsicle but I couldn't find the courage to move under this things gaze. '' **Where. Is. He?** ''

My mouth somehow managed to open and words forcefully made their way out, my hand slowly lifted itself and pointed to the next room. ''… I-If you're asking about Segrif Zepar, he is in the other room tied to the radiator.''

The thing let go of my shirt and proceeded to walk towards the other room, air finally returning to my lungs, as a sensation akin to an iceberg was suddenly removed off my shoulders. The thing stopped in its step and turned around to look at me again.

'' **Thank you** **!** ''

I blinked a few times and pinched myself.

D-Did that thing just strike a pose and wink at me in a cutesy manner?

Perhaps I'm starting to go delusional from mind shattering from fear, or from all the blood loss and wounds that I got today.

Or maybe it was both.

Just as I was about to breathe at ease that the thing was leaving, Sona stepped forward and called out to it. ''N-No, please wait, it's already been taken care of, there is no reason to-''

'' **Stay.** '' The thing ordered and Sona complied without any other words.

As the thing was walking away Sairaorg-san pulled out a paper with a magic circle on it and threw it on the ground, the magic circle quickly expanded and began glowing underneath us. ''Everyone grab onto me, were getting out of here!''

I nodded and was grateful for his quick thinking, the faster we were out of here and away from _that_ thing the better.

Everyone complied and grabbed onto the lion, any fear they might have had of the beast was eclipsed by the fear towards that thing. I was about to join in as well, but a sudden realization hit me.

There was so much risk involved but I couldn't ignore it. I turned and ran away; ignoring the calls I was getting from the others. When I reached her she woke as I picked her up and began running with her towards the circle.

''W-What are you doing?'' Shahnaz muttered in pure bewilderment, her tired black eyes trying to discern what she was seeing.

''… I'm not leaving you behind.'' I stated simply.

She bit her lower lip as her eyes closed back, a single tear running down her face as she whispered gently. ''… Fool.''

''Shirou get over here already!'' I heard them call out to me, the circle was glowing and was about to activate, as such I reinforced my legs and jumped forward, landing in it at the very last second.

* * *

When the lights of the teleportation finally ceased I felt an ease unable to be put in words, I was never so scared in my entire life. This wasn't about just my mind feeling the terror, my body itself was reacting, no, it was more precise to say it was unable to react out of pure fear. If that thing would have attacked us... there was a high chance I wouldn't even be able to gather the courage and stand up to it.

That thought truly terrified me.

''Are we safe?'' Reya asked as she tried to calm her breathing.

''I almost pissed myself back there.'' Saji muttered in shame, not that I could blame him though.

''Ditto.'' Tsubasa nodded in agreement.

I put Shahnaz gently on the ground and picked myself up, checking out my surroundings. It seemed the veranda of an estate at the start of the blood stained desert. If I keep in mind what Tsubaki-senpai said before this is probably somewhere in the Bael territory, I looked at the distance and all I could see was an endless desert. It was hard to believe that we were somewhere out there just moments ago.

Ease finally filled my body and I was soon followed up by a wave of extreme fatigue that threatened to knock me out at any second but for the moment I was still standing. ''Could someone tell what sort of God forsaken abomination was that?''

''That God forsaken abomination you mentioned Shirou-'' Sona tried to explain but went silent as a giant pillar of azure light exploded off in the distance, temporarily blinding us. When my sight returned my jaw dropped while my eyes became the sizes or saucers, the desert, and I mean all of it was turned into a frozen waste land. Sona on the other hand face palmed herself and let out and exhausted sigh. ''… was my sister.''

Somehow my mind had enough shocks for a single day and decided it needed a reboot.

That being said I passed out on the spot.

The combination of exhaustion, wounds, and jaw dropping surprises were just too much for me.

* * *

Within a dark room a man sat and was silently watching a crystal ball. A battle between a lone swordsman and a deformed monstrosity being unfolded within it. The man's smile growing ever so slightly as he saw the sheer determination of the sword wielder as he faced the foe before him.

Unbeknownst to him a man with grey hair stepped into the room. ''Well boss we managed to track down that potential recruit you wanted.''

''Did you now?'' the man hummed at this, never taking his eyes off the crystal ball. ''Will she join us out of her own volition, or will have to be more _persuasive_ with her?''

The grey haired man simply scoffed. ''Fifty-fifty if I were to be fair. She recently had a bit of an ethical squabble with her superiors at the church so she may be more inclined to join us. If I go personally the chances will go up since the two of us are old friends.''

A smirk spread on his face. ''Then you will accompany me when I go and recruit her.''

''Roger that.'' His comrade nodded as he walked behind him, peaking at the fight his boss was watching, curiosity sparking in him as he saw the red haired youth suddenly unleash a wave of magical weapons at the inhuman abomination. The man almost choked when he saw this, the sheer number of holy weapons and their quality was simply ridiculous. Now he was _really_ curious. ''Who is that by the way?''

''Oh, him?'' A bemused smile formed on the man's face, it truly was a genius move when he had the members of his faction infiltrate the underworld black market and had them sell magically enhanced items. Not only were they able to accumulate war funds for his future plans, but also it also served as a source of Intel since all the items had an advance form of clairvoyance magic placed on them that worked like surveillance cameras. He knew that he would gain valuable Intel at one point or another but never did he dream he would find such a valuable gem in the filthy hands of the devils. ''A very intriguing candidate for our faction.''

The majestic spear he held in his opposite hand glowed in a dim yet divine light in response to his feelings.

Things are bound get very interesting.

* * *

 **Omake: (Warning EX-Rank level of cringe, read at your own risk)**

Saji stared with blank eyes at the frozen landscape, ignoring the fact the Shirou just passed out. Somehow after all the shit he went through today his mind just decided to not give a damn anymore. ''Wow… she really 'let it go' didn't she?''

There was a collective cringe from the group at this line, Tsubasa for one looked like she bit on an especially sour lemon. ''… Saji there is no word in the Japanese, English, or whatever language you want that is strong enough to describe how cringe inducing that was.''

''I thought it was funny.'' Ruruko muttered somewhat embarrassed.

''Of course you would think that Ruruko.'' Reya rolled her eyes as she knew why her friend had said that.

''Could be worse.'' Tomoe remarked. ''At least no one is singing the song.''

Momo for one had enough of this idiocy and just face palmed herself. ''What kind of retard would do that in a situation like this?!''

Sona just sighed as her left eye twitched and she rubbed her forehead, if only she knew.

* * *

 _ **Song:**_ _**FROZEN | Let It Go**_

 _The snow glows white on the mountain tonight_

 _Not a footprint to be seen_

A voice could be heard through the frozen corridors of the Zepar base.

 _A kingdom of isolation_

 _And it looks like I'm the queen_

Every inch and every corner of the base was now frozen solid, an image that would have looked right at home within the underworld region of Cocytus.

 _The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside_

 _Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried_

The bodies of the peerage that had fought that day where all now just frozen statues, their last expressions of fear and horror forever carved from when they tried to escape the icy calamity that engulfed them.

 _Don't let them in, don't let them see_

 _Be the good girl you always have to be_

In the middle of the room where the Sitri peerage made their last stand someone was spinning innocently in the middle of it all.

 _Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know_

 _Well, now they know_

She danced around an ice statue like a child, small sparks of ice flying around her forming into small frozen flowers as they hit the ground. A very beautiful yet very deadly display of her powers over and skillful manipulation over ice.

 _Let it go, let it go_

 _Can't hold it back anymore_

 _Let it go, let it go_

 _Turn away and slam the door_

The body of Segrif Zepar sat frozen in place with a look of pure and undiluted despair forever etched upon his visage. The figure radiated an aura of primal fear that can no longer forget the utter horror of what he had felt before him. Whether it was from what the woman had did to him, or from hearing her horrible singing voice the cause remained unknown.

 _I don't care what they're going to say_

 _Let the storm rage on_

Serafall Leviathan then turned around smug smile, winking and blowing a kiss as if someone was there watching her.

 _The cold never bothered me anyway_

* * *

 **Author notes:**

Yeah… can't believe I did that omake.

My little sister recently made me watch Frozen with her and that damn song just stuck in my head and before I knew it I wrote that thing. Though when you think about it, that song fits Serafall scarily well.

Oh and apparently when Serafall is angered beyond reasoning she looks like Gon Freecss when he went berserk in his fight with Pitou… yeah…

Ok so usually Serafall is introduced in the open class thing in most fics so I decided to introduce her in a more memorable way. Just a heads up to Shirou that the wannabe magical girl must not be angered, forget Sirzechs and his Super Devil Swagger, Serafall is the one that is to be feared.

While she may be a childish and kind person by nature, if you mess with Sona… well you saw what happened.

Well at least we can all agree that Segrif got what he deserved in the end. No more dealing with the obnoxious prick. Hope my next OC won't suck like him, but hey, he is a stereotypical devil noble, so it's kinda mandatory that he is hated. Also must point out that when Shirou use Hrunting on it it wasn't in its magic bullet from, it was shot a any other arrow... or sword in this case, and that's why it didn't explode on contact and simply screwed him, so the whole bit about him surviving doesn't seem that impossible.

I wonder if it was a bad move on my part to introduce Sairaorg and skip his fight with the lion?

About Shahnaz, I will conclude her character next chapter. So there is no need to worry that she will become a plot device that can repair everything if it goes to shit.

As you can see this chapter had a decent length and if you combine it with the previous one it would have been one huge thing to read so it had to be split in two. So originally the arc was supposed to have 4 chapters left, and i end it in two. I tried listening to my readers and speed things up so there were some things that i had to cut.

Some people are probably wondering where do I go from here. Well next chapter is an interlude and a new arc starts after that, my last arc.

No, not the last arc I'm writing, my last original arc before the canon timeline kicks in.

Anyways I won't go into details, but next arc will only involve Shirou alone, so no other Sitri members for a while. On the other hand some other canon characters will make appearances and be involved, but no it won't be the main Gremory guys, it will some other dxd characters that don't really get attention. While it may seem pointless and I could just jump ahead to the canon time frame, i need it to set up some events for future alterations.

Also next chapter will shed some light regarding Shirou's unusual devil condition, so those who waited a long time for that, please wait a little longer. Since it wont involve any battle scenes it may be done much faster than the last one.

In other news I want to thank all the people who added me on FGO, I was fairly surprised, I half-filled my list. Also bind your accounts, I didn't do that and I almost lost mine last week, I really dodged that bullet and by some miracle I was able recover it just in time to grind the hell out of the Christmas event on the very last day and I got my first saber face (if you don't count Bedivere).

* * *

 **Now about the Np's that appeared in this chapter**

 **Hrunting:** Hound of the Red Plains

Owner: Beowulf

Abilities: Same as canon

Type: Anti-Unit

Rank: A

Range: 1

Maximum number of targets: 1 person

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review; I could use some constructive criticism.**


	16. Goodbye Shirou

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/Stay Night or Highschool DxD, or any of its character's, and make no money of this.**

* * *

 _The burden was great…_

 _Each step, each breath, each moment was torment…_

 _The body was suffering but the soul was unyielding…_

 _There were many knots left to untie…_

 _I only repaired one of them…_

 _Many more are left…_

* * *

 **Chapter 16:**

 **Goodbye Shirou**

* * *

'' _Now children let's see what each of you wrote.'' The middle school teacher beamed as she walked from desk to desk and picked up the papers with the assignment she gave to the students. It was a simple and fun task, to write about what they dream to become one day._

 _The teacher suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked confused at one particular paper, a blank one that belonged to the only auburn haired boy of the class. ''Shirou-kun you didn't write anything?''_

 _The boy didn't lift his face and simply stared at the desk with disappointed eyes. ''…No.''_

'' _Why though?'' the teacher was certainly taken back, she could have expected this with one of the lazy students, but not the amber eyed boy. ''You are usually such a diligent student.''_

 _The boy lifted his head and looked at the teacher, the image of the man that saved his life flashed through his mind every time he tried finding an answer… and yet he was unable to find an exact one. ''I guess I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up.''_

* * *

''Aghh…'' a strained groan escaped my lips as I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted with an unfamiliar white ceiling. The moment I tried lifting myself up I instantly regretted it and my head crashed back down into the pillow. I definitely had better mornings than this that's for sure. ''Did anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?''

''Does 54SegrifsAdouche ring any bell?'' I heard someone deadpan on my left side, I instantly turned my head around and saw Tsubasa sitting on a nearby bed, chowing down on a bowl of food. ''Morning slugger, did you sleep well?''

My eyebrow rose in confusion to this, not to seeing her eat, but that we were both in this same foreign room. I suppressed a groan and tried to lift myself again, it was a bit hard but I managed to stand up and scan my surroundings. I was in a hospital room, not only that, but the others were also here. Saji was sitting on the window frame while Momo, Reya and Tomoe were playing cards on one of the beds. On the other side Ruruko was peeling an apple while Tsubaki-senpai was reading a book but strangely enough Sona was missing. The moment I was up they all took notice and instantly dropped what they were doing to focus on me, Tomoe especially as she seemingly teleported right next to me and started shaking me back and forth. ''Shi-chan! How are you feeling?!''

''Whoa, easy there!'' I managed to speak out as I got the hyperactive Knight off me. I took a deep breath to calm down and tried to assess my current state. ''I'm fine… besides feeling sore in places I never even knew I had, I think I'm fine overall.''

After hearing this everyone looked like a huge weight had been removed from their shoulders. Tsubaki-senpai seemed to have lost strength in her legs and sat on the side of the bed next to me, a gentle smile spreading on her face. ''You have no idea what a relief that was Shirou, we were all worried if you would be alright after everything you went through. They kept you for five hours in the O.R. after all before they finally were done treating you.''

This made me recall everything that happened, the whole abduction, the battles we fought against the Zepar peerage, and my fight with Segrif Zepar himself. No wonder why my body feels like it was used as a crash test dummy. ''That long?''

''Considering that the doctors were scratching their heads to how you were still even alive with the amount of wounds you had it isn't that shocking.'' Momo remarked dryly, she clearly didn't enjoy what happened recently.

''Sorry for making you guys worry about me.'' I took a moment and studied each of them carefully, there wasn't a single one that was uninjured. Each of them was wrapped in bandages on one body part or another. While they may have seemed all right at first glance at least as much can be expected, it was their expressions that didn't rub well with me. Each of them seemed utterly exhausted from the bags under their eyes. I could only speculate that they didn't get much sleep because they stood up to watch over me until I was out of danger. Looking at them all I couldn't help but ask. ''What about you guys?''

Reya waved her hand lightly at this. ''Oh, we were patched up right away, the Sitri house is famous for their advanced medical facilities. This hospital is just one of many in the Sitri territory.''

Hmm… so I guess we are still in the underworld, well it wasn't like we could just go to a human hospital and with how each of us were injured and exhausted there was no way we could handle the healing by ourselves either. ''Is that so, I never knew that.''

I tried to lift myself a bit more and the bed sheet fell down, a curious sight beneath it. ''Wait a minute, what happened to my clothes?''

Now that I noticed, the others were wearing the same type of hospital gown, but I don't recall changing into these. My answer soon came from one of the others.

''They were like completely tattered and dyed red from the blood, of course they wouldn't let you wear them.''

Momo's reply only made me raise an eyebrow in question. ''Then who changed me?''

''The nurses, duh, who might I add were curiously giggling and taking an awful long time to finish changing your bandages.'' Tsubasa remarked with a very big snicker which was bordering on the shit eating grin category.

''Why would they do that?''

''Huh?'' My reply only made the blue haired rook blink in confusion. ''You can't see what I'm getting at?''

''Noooo…?'' I muttered unsure of what she was even on about.

She just stared at me with an unreadable expression, one that everyone else was also sharing. The moment of silence was finally broken by one of the girls. ''Holy shit, it's like he isn't even considering it.''

Momo nodded solemnly at Tomoe's remark. ''Told you he is as dense as rock when it comes to women.''

A sigh escaped my lips as I just failed to see what they were talking about. When I looked around the room again, I noticed that someone was missing from the group. ''Say where's our master?''

''Sona's injuries were mostly superficial so she was placed in a different ward then us. If anything she's been under spiritual test to see if there was any affection from Segrifs brainwashing attempts. '' Tsubaki-senpai explained as she rearranged her glasses. ''Plus her sister dropped by and she wouldn't let go of her.''

''Huh, so that's it.'' I hummed as I crossed my arms and immediately froze when I registered the last part the black haired queen mentioned. Suddenly memories of the abomination were flashing through my mind, causing my body to jerk backwards in reaction. ''Wait, that thing is here?!''

''Wow, calm down Shirou, there's no need to panic.'' Reya tried waving her hands up and down in a soothing manner, but it had little to no effect on me.

''No need to panic, didn't you see how that thing turned and entire desert into the Antarctic in a matter of seconds?!'' I berated in a shaky voice, I didn't like to admit it, but that thing terrified me. ''Well, excuse me if I'm not comfortable knowing that some nightmarish monster is close by.''

Ruruko scratched her cheek and laughed sheepishly. ''Actually Shirou-senpai, as hard to believe as it may sound, Kaichou's sister is actually a really nice gal when she isn't pissed.''

My head turned around almost mechanically at this. ''Wait, you talked with her?!''

Tomoe nodded lightly and chuckled. ''Yeah, she's really sweet once you get to know her. Real ball of energy that girl, a bit of a total siscon, but overall a nice person.''

I took a moment and processed this… then two… then three. Yep, I wasn't buying it, the siscon part was making it even harder to believe than it already was. ''I'm having a hard time processing this.''

''Trust me I couldn't believe it either and was calling out bullshit.'' Saji remarked as he crossed his arms, a shiver ran through his body as he went on. ''When she saw that I didn't believe her she turned on the whole black smog thing just to show that it was really her.''

''Oh… that must have been bad.''

''I almost pissed myself.'' He stated with a solemn face, not embarrassed at all to admit it.

''… Sounds legit.'' I nodded in agreement, I wouldn't judge anyone for getting scared of what I saw, it would surprise me to find someone that can look at that thing and have not be even a little bit scared.

As the others laughed lightly at Saji's predicament the door on the other side was open and through it a man stepped in. ''Looks like our man of mystery has finally woken up.''

I scanned him carefully as he walked towards us and was quite taken aback by his appearance. He was a young man in his early twenties but I couldn't help but admire the inhuman beauty he had, with piercing light blue eyes and green hair that was slicked back without a single strand out of place. That aside, there was also this mysterious aura he was exuding, making me feel somehow overwhelmed and on edge in his presence. As I looked closely though I couldn't help notice something out of place, curiously I noted he was wearing a single glove on one hand while the other was left uncovered.

When the others took notice of him they all panicked and got off my bed to bow down in front of him. ''Beelzebub-sama!''

I felt the air get stuck in my throat when I finally realized who this guy was. It was Ajuka Astaroth, one of the heroes of the devil civil war, current Maou and bearer of the title of Beelzebub. This was the man that created the very evil piece system that devil's like Sona use, he was the genius that saved the devil race when it faced extinction.

That very man was now in front of me.

And apparently he rolled his eyes in boredom when he saw the others showing proper respect towards him. ''Geez, drop the formalities, I'm not here as Ajuka Beelzebub the big Maou of the underworld, I'm just here as a scientist checking up on an intriguing patient.''

He seemed rather… easy going. Not exactly the image I pictured in my mind when I read all of those articles about him. The way he just lazily picked up a nearby chair, put it in front of my bed, and sat on it, backwards might I add got rid of any images of a dignified scientist I had of him.

Before I knew it he made a tablet covered in glowing marks appear in his hand, and swiping down on it he stared at me when he stopped searching. ''So, Emiya Shirou was it?''

''Y-Yes.'' I nodded a bit sheepishly.

He lifted his hands up and gestured with them, a snicker forming on his lips. ''No need to be nervous, I don't have any injections on me.''

Whatever nervousness I or the others had before had lightened at the man's remark. When he noticed my change of mood he went back to looking at his tablet before asking me a series of questions.

''So how are you feeling?''

''Good, I guess, a little sore but well I suppose.'' Trying to feel once again for anything out of the ordinary with my body but fortunately finding nothing wrong as far I could tell.

''I see, are you experiencing any tingling in your legs?''

''None at the moment.'' I replied.

''Any noticeable difference with your eyesight?''

''Seems as good as it always was.'' I responded.

''Any back pains or itches of any kind in the back area?''

''Besides the tingling sensation from the hospitals gowns material, nothing else.''

''Try channeling some magical energy in your body.'' He told, or rather ordered me do to and I did as I was told without any comment. I did a simple reinforcement on my body. ''Do you feel any burn or burden while doing so?''

''No.'' I answered somewhat taken aback. Surprisingly, the strain from when I usually use magecraft seemed to have reduced.

The man nodded as he kept tapping on his tablet, offering me a serene smile as he finished. ''Well then Shirou-kun, let me offer you my congratulations. Your healing has been successful.''

Even though this was a good thing I couldn't help but feel that something wasn't exactly right here. ''Judging by those questions you weren't expecting that to be case?''

His eyebrow rose and a bemused smile spread on his lips. ''Oh, we've got a sharp one here. I was very certain that with the amount of physical trauma you went through permanent damage was bound to happen.'' He stated in a very clinical tone. ''Those bone shards in your back in particular were quite the curious little things, small yet very effective. They also had this ability that made them grow roots and latch themselves onto the victim. The doctors performing surgery on you had a field day extracting all those out.''

My eyes couldn't help but half close as I watched the sparkle of excitement present in the man's eyes when he talked about Segrif Zepar's weapon. ''You sound rather impressed by them.''

The bearer of the Beelzebub name simply scoffed. ''As reckless as he was, as a fellow researcher I have to give credit to Segrif Zepar for his research. A shame he went astray down his path, he could've become a great researcher one day. I salvaged quite a few interesting theories and samples he developed. Among those there was one thing in particular that got my attention.''

''Such as?'' This also got my attention, knowing what Segrif was working on it couldn't be pretty.

''Tell me, was there any sacred gear users within his ranks that out of nowhere injected themselves with something and their powers instantly started evolving?''

I took a moment and thought about it, there was the user of the **Jade Archery** sacred gear, the elf woman Eletha. She did inject herself with some unknown substance when she began losing against us and her sacred gear somehow mutated from it. ''Yeah, his knight did that. You know what she used?''

He shook his head in response. ''There wasn't much I discovered, but from what I managed to decipher from his notes it was supposed to be an imitation of something called ' **Chaos Break** '. I can only assume that it's some kind of enhancement drug that affects sacred gear users, but without a sample of the compound he developed or the so called original **Chaos Break** I can't give a certain answer. I ask if you ever encounter this drug or anything similar would you be so kind to secure a sample and have it delivered to me?''

''… I will try.'' I answered a bit flabbergasted, I honestly couldn't say no to this guy for some reason.

He waved his hand and his tablet vanished, his demeanor also changing with it, turning more serious and stoic. ''Now with that out of the way, I have a very important matter to discuss with you.''

I suddenly felt a bit nervous under the man's icy stare. ''Such as?''

''Tell me, weren't you suppose to meet up with me before the whole incident with the Zepar kid happened? Care to remind me why you were supposed to do that?''

I thought about it and recalled that Sona actually made me an appointment for a check out with this guy. ''It was to see why my demonic powers and evil pieces weren't working.''

''Exactly, now while you were unconscious I examined you and found the answers you've been looking for. I already informed Sona about what I found, now before I tell you, are you comfortable with the others hearing this?''

I pondered a bit on this, perhaps it was one of those patient doctor confidentiality moments. Perhaps it would have been the normal choice to hear about it by myself first, but after everything that we all went through together I felt they deserved to know what has been going on with me just as much as I do. ''I believe they also have the right to know what's going on with me.''

My decisions made the others each smile to some extent, even the green haired Maou only snickered. ''Good words.''

He waved his hand and a different tablet manifested. ''At first I tried remote accessing your evil pieces to check the memory banks in them and find any irregularities within them. To my own confusion they weren't responding to my commands, something which shouldn't happen. I then tried a manual access but even that failed as well much to my own confusion.''

He began tapping vigorously on the tablet, my eyes failing to keep up with his hand movements. ''I found that very odd so I put you under a PMRI test.''

''PMRI?'' Saji tilted his head in confusion, a sentiment that I also shared since I was oblivious to what it was.

The man's light blue eyes never left his tablet. ''Pulse magic resonance imaging, its similar to the MRI humans have developed but this variation shows irregularities caused by supernatural factors. Which were many to isolate might I add, since quite the number of marks were results from injuries of the Zepar incident. There was a lot of nitpicking to do in order to find any previous existing abnormalities.''

The subtle and almost unnoticeable glare he threw at me made it clear that the nitpicking part must have been a real pain to work with.

''What I found truly surprised me.'' There was a change in his demeanor, a sort of spark of excitement igniting in his eyes as he handed me the tablet he was using. ''This is a display of your spiritual body, take a close look at the center.''

Everyone else got behind me and tried to peek over my shoulder to see what it was. Much to my confusion I didn't know what I was looking at, it looked overall like a glowing outline of my body but there seemed to be something in the center of it, giving a dim golden light within. Reya and everyone else weren't having a better time figuring this out. ''There's something there?''

''Exactly, apparently you have some sort of artifact magical in nature implanted in your body.''

''What if it's a sacred gear?'' Ruruko asked skeptically, apparently she still hadn't given up on the possibility of me having a sacred gear.

The Maou only shook his head at this. ''Not a chance, the magical signature I decoded from it isn't even remotely close to that of a sacred gear in nature or function. In fact I have never even seen such an object before in my entire career as a researcher, so you can expect the scientist in me couldn't resist taking a closer look at it. Thus I tried extracting it to see just what it was.''

I could only nod lightly and go on. ''So what is it?''

''I said 'I tried' extracting it, not that I succeeded. The moment I tried to remove it I encountered some rather violent reactions from it.'' He then lifted the glove covering his hand and slowly removed the piece of fabric. ''As you can see, it really didn't want to separate from you.''

''Holy shit!'' Tsubasa's sudden outburst was justified, everyone was staring at the man's hand in utter shock. Skin was nowhere to be seen, instead one could only gaze at the wrinkly crimson and blackened exposed flesh. In some spots the flesh was thin almost transparent, making it possible for the bones to be seen and even the blood flowing through the veins could be noticed if stared hard enough.

Those were definitely fourth degree burns on his hand… and I caused them?

If it was some random devil I would've believed it without any problem, but this guy was one of the strongest devils in existence. The idea that I could cause such an injury to him, especially unintentionally was mind boggling. I was speechless by this sudden turn of events such that I didn't even feel the first time when Tsubaki-senpai elbowed me. When I did finally notice she was throwing me a desperate glare. ''Shirou apologize immediately!''

My eyes widened as I just realized it, but before I could even move my mouth to apologize to the man in front of me he raised his other hand and stopped me. ''Oh, no need for any of that, I reap what I sow, trying to meddle with it without your consent was an unethical move on my part so I deserved it. That being said, I have you ask you Emiya Shirou, just what is that object within you?''

I went silent as my mind tried finding an explanation, unfortunately I had no means to answer what he really wanted to know. ''… You ask me that but I am more oblivious about it than you are. Until this day I had no idea that there was some kind of magical artifact in me, let alone what it is.'' Hearing my response the man in front of me couldn't help but sigh.

''That is disappointing, I can deduce that you have no idea of how to remove it do you?'' as much as I wanted to help him get out of the disappointed state he was in, I couldn't do it and simply waved my head side to side. It only made the man sigh once again seeing my answer and further dejected. ''Of course you don't.''

Somehow his attitude was contagious, I was also beginning to feel a little down. ''So you have no idea what it is or does do you?''

''Well I can't say that I don't have any lead.'' He remarked as he put his glove back on. ''I analyzed the residual energy left in my burnt flesh and managed to at the very least identify its origin.''

''Is it some kind of holy relic?'' Tsubaki-senpai asked curiously.

''At first glance one would automatically assume that, however this was not a God forged relic, no, it's a Fae origin relic.''

''Fae?'' Tsubasa, among a few others, tilted their heads at this name. ''What's that?''

''They are more commonly known as fairies by humans knowledge.''

This made Saji tilt his head in confusion. ''So wait some small Tinkerbell shoved that thing in Emiya?''

The Maou could only snort at his remark. ''A crude description but not an inaccurate one, the object however isn't in his physical body but his spiritual one. Think of it as an extension of his soul, also I doubt the Fae bestowed it upon him.''

''Why do you say that?'' Momo asked in deep confusion, one that I also shared.

''There have been very few people recorded to have ever received Fae forged armaments and there hasn't been any case in the last millennium or so. The Fae have always been a reclusive race. It's very, and I mean very rare for one to spot a fairy in this day and age, but to find one that is willing to bestow one of their precious artifacts to a random boy is beyond impossible. ''

As I listened to this I did see some truth in what he said. I kept reasserting different myths and legends to get a better understanding of what could be out there and there were very few instances of stories in which someone received blessings from the fairies. I recall the Celtic hero Diarmuid Ua Duibhne and knight of the round table Lancelot du Lac being among the few people mentioned to have received the blessing of the fairies in one way or another.

''The artifact could have been bestowed on someone else at one point and then could have been lost, stolen, or simply passed down to another even though they didn't receive the Fae's approval. The only conclusion I can draw is that someone who possessed the artifact bestowed it upon you and it seemingly bonded to you at a spiritual level.''

This was beginning to get a bit complicated. ''Bonded?''

He stared at his glove covered hand and flexed it a couple of times before he continued. ''Considering the sheer recoil I received when I tried extracting it, that thing is stuck to you and isn't going anywhere for a while. Perhaps its waiting for when the times is right and until then it isn't leaving you.''

A long and heavy sigh escaped my lips as I took all of this in. Great… just great, like I didn't have enough on my mind as it was, now I have to figure where I got this artifact from, and who jammed it in me. ''Out of curiosity, how can you tell it's a Fae artifact?''

Lord Beelzebub simply pointed at the chart where the artifact was registered, his face on the other hand seemed rather uninterested. ''If you look carefully there are Fae letters on it, that was a dead giveaway.''

Well, that could be a start. ''So you can tell what it says on it?''

''Hardly, in fact you would be unbelievably lucky to find someone in this day and age that can even read Fae language outside of their race. As I said before the Fae are very reclusive, even more so than the Shinto Gods, as such there isn't any individual today that is known to be able to read them. Or at least not any the devil faction is aware of.''

I opened my mouth to comment on this but he immediately cut me off.

''I can recognize the writing by the unique design, but I have no clue what it says.'' He went on in a dry tone. ''In any case you all should keep quiet about it, Fae artifacts are worth far more than you can ever imagine. So unless you want to get a bounty on your head by collectors or attacked by power hungry individuals I advise you all forget it even exists.''

Everyone could only nod awkwardly at this, but the one who felt most awkward was probably me. It certainly was a strange feeling knowing you have a fortune in your body.

''Anyway we have deviated enough, let's go back to the initial topic.'' And like that his disinterest vanished and a serious look took over him. ''I originally used the PMRI to track your evil pieces, the fact that I found that artifact in you was pure coincidence. Look at the scan again, try focusing around the shape of the artifact. Do you see anything there?''

I narrowed my eyes and actually reinforced them to get a better view. I wasn't too sure what I was seeing. ''Some small bits of… something?''

''Those bits as you call them-'' a magic circle flashed above the green haired Maou's hand, from it small chucks of red and white stones dropped in the palm of his hand. ''…are your evil pieces.''

I stared at the chunks in his hand, yet I was having a hard time believing what I was seeing. ''Wait, what?''

''I was just as surprised as you are, apparently your pieces have shattered the very moment they tried converting you into a devil.'' He remarked with a small scowl as he played with one of the chunks, the said chunk starting to glow in a deep red light. ''They have shattered just when they were a step away from completing their task and remained in a semi active state ever since. But make no mistake, they never did their job all the way through.''

As I processed this I felt my throat dry up, breath becoming strained and haggard as I stared into the man's light blue eyes. A cold realization filling me and yet I couldn't see it possible. ''What are you trying to imply?''

''Isn't it obvious?'' he flashed a magic circle and from it a silver cross materialized, everyone around me took an involuntary step back when they saw it. With a flick of his hand the cross levitated and was pressed against my head.

Everyone stared in shock as I didn't react at this at all.

There was no reason to react to it.

It didn't burn.

As the cross started vaporizing the Maou only nodded in confirmation to everyone present, revealing the answer that we all wanted to know. ''You're still human Emiya Shirou.''

Time seemed to have slowed down, a heavy silence filling the room. No one dared to speak, all they could do was simply stare at me as if I just grew a second head.

I wasn't faring much better.

''W-What?!'' was all I managed to utter as I grabbed my face with my free hand. It seemed impossible, it was hard to believe… and yet it was starting to slowly make sense. The times I tried accessing my demonic powers, the times using devil magic, the times I tried promoting, the times I tried unfolding my wings, and how all of them ended in failure. There was only one answer, it wasn't that I lacked the talent or ability to use them. I simply was unable to do so from the beginning. ''But how?!''

My mind was simply spinning trying to find a proper explanation to this. All the memories of the times I should have realized this surfaced and had now hit me dead on. ''Sona told me she could feel the evil pieces in me. She said they felt weak and odd but she still felt them there.''

''What she felt was the residual energy from them. The king of a peerage has a connection to their evil pieces even if they are not currently being used, since they were still functioning to some extent she couldn't have realized that they shattered.'' The Maou carefully explained. '' You might not know this but reincarnated devils cannot naturally generate demonic energy the same way naturally born devils can. One of the functions of the evil pieces is to do just that, they absorb residual mana in the air and convert it into demonic energy.''

While that made some sense it didn't make things feel easier.

''You really dodged a bullet there because in their current state the evil pieces in you weren't able to properly generate demonic energy the way they were intended to. Direct exposure to demonic energy can be very harmful to humans, and an internal exposure would be even worse. From what I could notice the fragments of your pieces still collected residual mana from the air and stocked it. It also seems like you recently used it all.'' He clinically explained as he played with one of the fragments, a spark of curiosity igniting in his eyes once again. ''Speaking of which, did you at any point during the Zepar incident run out of any form of magical energy to use and out of nowhere gained access to a unknown supply of one?''

I looked back and realization slowly hit me. ''… Now that you mention it there were some instances during the final battle when I ran out of any magical energy but in a single moment my mind blacked out and I tapped into a reserve that I shouldn't have had naturally.'' I muttered as I recalled unleashing that wave of swords on Segrif, and the tracing of Hrunting that followed. ''I by all means was out of any energy and it just happened.''

The Maou nodded and took a few notes on his tablet. ''Better not get used to it since I took those fragments out.''

Somehow I realized something that could be used in my advantage. ''If they can collect mana like that can't you put them back inside me?''

The man was anything but amused at my suggestion. ''No way kid, you have idea what kind of luck you had that this ordeal didn't outright kill you. It was like swallowing an unsheathed knife and always keeping it in your stomach, sure it can be useful when the time is right, but you are risking killing yourself at the smallest misstep. The only reason nothing happened is because you didn't try to rely on your evil pieces and used your own means to fight, I may be many things but I won't endanger someone when I can help it.''

If I said I wasn't feeling a little bit dejected by this, I would be lying. ''I see… well, do you have any idea why the pieces didn't work on me in the first place?''

''I checked the recorded data on the remains, from what I could decipher you were truly on your death bed when they were used on you. The sudden influx of energy that they filled you with must have triggered something inside you that helped you survive the fatal wounds. The mandatory healing process was started at that time and when the pieces tried converting you into a devil something happened that literally shattered them before they could complete the process.'' A magic circle flashed in his hand and the fragments started dancing at the tip of his fingers, static energy emanating from them violently. ''I have seen many forms of reactions and side effects involving the evil pieces but never did I encounter something like this before.''

Somehow this whole situation was making me feel a bit awkward in front of the man. ''I'm sorry for the trouble I'm causing.''

''Quite the contrary, I find this whole ordeal most fascinating. On a personal level I would want nothing more than open you up and see the exact source of it all and what the exposure from the Fae artifact did to you.'' At this casual reply from the man I couldn't help but take an involuntary step backward, the way he smiled like a small child while he explained all of this was scaring me a bit. ''However work ethics these days prevents me doing so, also Serafall would probably castrate me if I made Sona sad by messing with her friends.''

And just like that the fear somehow vanished and got replaced by a sense of awkwardness. At least it made feel less of coward knowing that even a big shot like this guy is afraid of Sona's sister.

While I was trying to think of a way to restart the conversation, Tsubaki-senpai stepped forward and looked at the Maou with pleading eyes. ''Beelzebub-sama… What will happen to Shirou?'' Her voice was strained and bitter, this whole situation seemed to be affecting her even more that it was affecting me.

Reya also stepped forward. ''Yeah, will he be given other pieces in the old ones place?''

The green haired man only shook his head. ''I'm afraid as it stands he can't be converted into a devil. If I were to use a new set of pieces on him they would just end up the same as the old ones. Besides the numerical value the pawns had was the equivalent of ten at the time they were used, and I can tell that since the first pieces were used Shirou here has been growing at a rather impressive rate. I doubt ten pawns would be enough to convert him at this point even if I included in mutated pieces like the original pawns had.''

''O-Over ten…'' Ruruko muttered in awe at this number. It made sense that it affected her, for she consumed only one pawn when she joined Sona, and even the highest valued piece the Queen was only valued at nine. Three pawns were used on me that night, one of which was a mutation piece. I was told that the value of a mutation piece is much higher than a regular one but who would have thought that the one used on me was equivalent to eight regular ones.

Tsubasa also couldn't keep silent in this conversation. ''Then what will happen to him?''

The Maou pondered for a bit before he answered. ''If I were to go by standard procedure I should inform the council about him, but with the current facts involved he might just get stripped of his freedom and get locked away somewhere out of reach.''

There was an instant uproar by those around me at this declaration.

''What?!''

''You can't be serious!''

''Why?!''

''No fucking way we are letting that happen!''

As the uproar of the Sitri household went on, Tsubaki-senpai threw her arm to the side to silence us, the look on her face was strained and exhausted, her arm was shaking as she tried to find answers from the man in front of us. ''Beelzebub-sama, please explain to us why Shirou would get such a treatment when he has done nothing to earn or deserve such a punishment.''

The man simply sighed as he began elaborating. ''It's not what he has done, but what he has the _potential_ to do. He is an anomaly as it stands a very dangerous anomaly at that might I add, if word gets out that there is a way to resist the evil pieces the council wouldn't want him to fall into the hands of any other faction. Just think about it, if what kept him human, whether it is that artifact or some other factor, can be replicated it could become the very downfall of the evil piece system. As much as the council keeps throwing fits about the superiority of the purebloods and the necessity to preserve the noble bloodlines, they are well aware that the evil piece system is crucial for our race. With all of those things accounted for, Shirou's mere existence is a threat. He is potentially a threat so great that it may end up with him being sentenced to death just to eliminate any possibility of him falling into the wrong hands.''

If I took a moment and thought about it, he was making a valid point. While I wouldn't intentionally take advantage of my situation and use it for my own means, the risk of others trying to use me is still out there.

From a pure logical standpoint, I was indeed a potential threat towards the devil race.

That conclusion was making everyone look defeated and at loss.

There had to be something that I could do.

I let out a tired sigh and stared the man in the eyes. ''Then what will you do?''

''What should I do? What should I do?'' The Maou hummed as he stroked his chin.

The air around him suddenly turned heavy and serious, his eyes looked sharp, a stare that would make a weak willed man pass out on his feet were locked onto me.

''I will ask you one single question, and depending on your answer I shall decide what to do.'' It felt like the very air around us was gaining weight, threatening to crush me under the man's icy glare. ''Breasts or butts?''

I blinked once… then twice… at the third time my mind tried rebooting and I went on and asked. ''… Would you be so kind as to repeat that?''

''Which do you prefer, the magnificent bosom or the alluring bottom?'' He spoke without any hint of embarrassment in his voice, heck the way he spoke was very clinical, like talking about a medical condition. ''Careful what you chose, your freedom may very well depend on it.''

Even though he said that, my mind was having a hard time processing all of this and my usual self-restrictions were feeling kinda loose. Somehow my mouth was on autopilot and just answered the first thing that came to my mind regardless of the results it may have. ''… Thighs.''

The Maou and everyone else in here just stared silently at me.

''Heh.'' A chuckle escaped the green haired man's mouth as it morphed into a smirk. He waved his hand and from a magic circle a bottle of rum and a pair of goblets appeared. Before I could even comment he opened the bottle and poured in the cups, giving me one of them and toasting. ''You my friend, are a man of culture.''

I only stared at the rum in my hand. Unsure if I should tell the man that I was still underage or just chug the whole thing down to take off the edge I felt.

Just what in blue blazes was going on?

It appeared everyone else was also taken aback by this, Tsubaki-senpai's eyes for one looked like they were one step away from breaking through the lenses of her glasses. ''Beelzebub-sama you can't be serious!''

''Of course I'm not. Can't a man joke around?'' He shrugged his shoulders as he finished his drink, the half lidded stare he was giving us was telling me this guy was far easier going than he let on. ''I wasn't planning on making this matter public from the beginning, there are far too many variables involved and it can cause unwanted effects. For the time being I will use the remains I managed to extract and run further diagnostics on them. Those together with the tissue and bodily fluids I extracted while you were asleep should give me enough to work with.''

I didn't comment about just what kind of _bodily fluids_ he collected, at this point I really didn't want to know. Instead I focused on a different matter at hand. ''For one of Hell's leaders you certainly are showing a blind eye to a possible threat.''

''Don't misunderstand kid, I'm only doing it this one time because I still can. If you do become a threat in any way to my kind I will report you regardless of the headache I will get from the council.''

''… A fair point.'' I nodded slightly in appreciation, to be honest I think I just dodged a bullet right there. ''So I take it you don't like the council?''

''Trust me when I say I can't stand the council.'' The way he rolled his eyes further emphasized that. ''I understand that making sure order is kept is a given, but they manipulate things to further their own agendas, so please excuse me if I like giving them the middle finger whenever I get the chance.''

A nervous laugh escaped my lips at this, but I was anything but amused, it was more of an involuntary reaction as my mind was getting slowly overwhelmed by all of the turns of events. The fact that I'm still human, the mysterious artifact in me, the possible threat that I pose and what may happen if I take the wrong step.

''L-Look I appreciate all you're doing for me and all that you did up until this point, but I need to properly process all of this.'' In spite of still feeling sore I got up from my bed and made my way out of the room ignoring the concerned looks of the other Sitri devils. ''I… need some air… all of this is a lot to take in.''

''That's a good choice, try not to let it get to you since you still need rest.'' A bright and friendly smile spread on his face as he went on. ''Also, Shirou-kun if it's not too much to ask, could I get the rights over your body in case of death?''

If before I was sluggishly making my way out of the room, now I was running away. ''I… really need to get to the bathroom.''

''Please, it's in the name of science!''

I ignored the man and got the hell away from him as if the devil was chasing me.

Oh wait… _a devil_ was chasing me.

* * *

The Sitri peerage stared in silence as Shirou bolted out of the room.

''Well that was a letdown.'' Ajuka Beelzebub sighed as he picked his tablet and prepared to leave. ''I hope you all can be discreet about all that was discussed here?''

No one made a single comment, they simply nodded silently in unison. This situation felt way over their heads so this was all they could do at the current time in response.

''Wonderful, make sure you all rest.'' The Maou kindly chirped as he left.

As they were left alone a heavy silence filled the room, each member of Sitri peerage was utterly shocked by the revelations that took place concerning their friend within the last hour.

''…So that was what was going on all this time.'' Momo spoke slowly, trying to attempt to uplift the moral of the group, but she knew far too well that it wouldn't be so easy given the circumstances.

Reya only chuckled bitterly at the white haired bishop. At this point it was all she could do. ''To think… he was still human all this time… how the hell didn't we notice it?''

''He never did show any sort of devilish traits or abilities all these months did he?'' Ruruko chuckled as she stared dejectedly at the ceiling. There were some small patterns she noticed when one became a devil, such as a decrease of physical energy during daytime which got balanced by an increase during the nighttime among other things. The twin tailed pawn really couldn't notice them since they were all so insignificant, no one bothered keeping track of them.

''… And yet in these few months we've been together he has outdone us in spite of that.'' Tomoe admitted in shame as she recalled the first spar she had with Shirou, at the time she was able to keep up with the red haired swordsman, but now she doubts she would even last a minute against him.

''… I shudder at what he could have achieved if the pieces worked properly.'' Tsubaki offered her own two cents. If he managed to outclass them by his own means, as a human without a sacred gear or any supernatural heritage she was aware of, who knows what heights he could achieve if he became a devil.

The only male of the group observed silently while leaning up against the wall. As the conversation kept rolling it continued to get more and more depressing, when he finally had enough he clicked his tongue and decided to get out of here.

When the pawn turned around to walk away the twin tailed girl called him out. ''Saji-senpai where are you going?''

The male pawn stopped at the door but didn't turn around to face them, he mumbled something under his breath before speaking clearly. ''… I need a smoke.''

When he left the room the others realized how annoyed the blonde must have felt by the way he slammed the door behind him. Tomoe could only stare with half lidded eyes at the door. ''Talk about having a stick up your ass.''

''Can you really blame him?'' Reya hummed sadly as she sat on one of the beds. ''Being forced to rely on Shirou is hard enough, but his personality only makes things more painful.''

Momo chuckled bitterly at this, it was so ironic that she wasn't the only one feeling this way. ''I know right, you already feel bad that you can't do better, that you couldn't do it alone without his help, and then he comes around beating himself up and apologizing that he couldn't do better when it was your own mistake that he was correcting. Not his own but yours, that just makes you feel like shit.''

That was a collective struggle that they all faced. Making mistakes is something that happens on a regular basis in any place at any time, some may be small and insignificant, but others so large that they may not even be fixable.

When one makes a mistake others may ignore them, in other cases some will point them out to you, or even rub them in your face as they hold you accountable for them.

Those are all the normal ways to react.

This wasn't such a case.

Sometimes when someone takes the blame for a mistake that you yourself have committed, whether that mistake was out of foolishness or lack of ability, it will make you feel even worse. Far much worse compared to how one would feel if they simply felt guilty for those mistakes themselves.

''He really is a selfless dimwit isn't he?'' Ruruko remarked as she sat on the bed, curling her knees to her chest.

Tsubaki was he most conflicted of them all. She realized that everything her friends said was true and yet a part of her still refused to accept this. How could someone that could show so much care and compassion for the people around him show so little concern for his own safety?

The incident with Kurosaiga Ichirou was the first sign, but at that time the circumstances were different.

However this whole abduction incident only further proved it, shielding the others with his own body and critically injuring himself, while putting his body through immense strain and pain to create a means for all to survive. Choosing to fight opponents in critical condition as long it meant that others didn't have to do it.

On paper those may seem like acts of courage and selflessness, but what she saw was something completely different.

She saw a man that didn't care about his own welfare as long as it meant that others were safe.

It may not have happen today…but the Sitri Queen feared what may happen to Shirou the next time he encounters a similar situation.

That dark thought continued to plague her mind, the more she thought about it a sensation akin to a cold pit formed in the bottom of her stomach. She gritted her teeth before finally giving her own opinion. ''He means well, we all know that he is the kind of person that wouldn't intentionally hurt any of us but he isn't realizing that by taking no pride in himself and trying to shoulder everything he is unintentionally hurting others.''

Emiya Shirou was always an enigma to her. On the surface he seemed like a simple although kind normal everyday student, but for each layer she managed to peel away, she would seem to find another ten waiting underneath them.

Among the depressed girls, the one that had kept silent all this time slammed her fist against the wall when she had enough.

''I don't know about you girls but the moment I'm back at full health I'm going to start training for real.'' Tsubasa spat out irritated, her eyes unable to keep themselves from shaking. ''This whole shit fest was nothing but a massive wake up call.''

The girls stared silently at the blue haired rook. It didn't make them feel that much better, but she was making a good point, as things stood staying depressed was the last thing that they should be doing. Momo found it difficult but she reluctantly agreed. ''You're right… as it stands this may very well have been our last mission with Shirou, next we may be by ourselves. We can't keep relying on him the way we did until now.''

''It can't keep up like this.'' Reya spoke up nodding in agreement. ''We have to develop our own skills and create our own techniques. Just like how Segrif Zepar's peerage had members with skills and abilities different from each other, we must aim to do the same and expand our horizons.''

''Just like how Shirou endures so much to forge a weapon.'' Tomoe remarked.

''We need to get stronger by ourselves.'' Ruruko stood straight.

Tsubaki only nodded her head silently, she had no more to say as the others had said all that was needed to be said.

Things were bound to change from now on. That much they were all aware of, whether they were for the better or worse they had no way of knowing at the time.

The only thing they could do was move forward.

* * *

What was I even doing?

I honestly didn't even know where I was going. Everything was just getting suffocating in that room with every new revelation that I was given and I really felt the need for some fresh air and time alone.

As it stood I was just walking aimlessly through the hospital halls, taking notice of the unusual sights around me. I haven't been in a hospital since the incident ten years ago so I might be a bit unfamiliar with them but this definitely wasn't a normal hospital. I would occasionally peek in the rooms as I walked past them and the medical equipment was different to anything I've seen before, it looked like the most cutting edge machines were combined with magic crystals and various magical seals.

To think that all this time I was still human…

What a sick joke.

All the times I struggled to come to terms with the idea that I became a devil, my struggles to gain control of devil magic, to try to awaken my demonic power, to call forth my wings, and all of those attempts were nothing but a waste of time. If that wasn't bad enough I also wasted so much of Reya and Momo's time helping me out to gain control of my nonexistent devil powers.

The fact that I also had to keep up with Archer always poking sticks at me for trying to understand devils also was a thing that bothered me.

I stopped in my tracks as I realized something, my hands tightened into fists the moment I processed everything.

Of course… there was no way he didn't know.

As I walked I reached a waiting room, to my luck the place was empty so I took a seat in a corner. I looked around one more time to confirm that I was alone, when that was done I closed my eyes and concentrated. ' _'Archer we need to talk.''_

When I heard an amused laugh I narrowed my eyes for what was to come. _ **''This is certainly new, you usually don't start a conversation with me.''**_

His unperturbed tone only further annoyed me. _''You knew I was still human didn't you?''_

'' _ **Pretty much.''**_

I'm glad I was alone, something told me I was probably making a really angry face right now. _''And you didn't tell me because?''_

My tone didn't affect him, he only scoffed smugly at me. _'_ _ **'I'll be honest with you, I thought it may help you get a better perspective of things.''**_

That wasn't an answer I expected. _''What do you mean by that?''_

'' _ **Your little friends, I thought that if you believed you were one of them you might grow to open up to them more compared to how you would have done if you were still aware you were still human. If not from your own initiative, then from obligation at the very least since you were supposed to be part of their so called peerage.''**_ He explained rather casually with a hint of smugness in it. _**''Now that you saw how things are from your human eyes, do you think becoming a devil is a bad thing?''**_

I tried to see his point but the more I tried to understand him the more confused I got. _''You're talking like you want me to become a devil.''_

'' _ **What I want from you is to think things through for once in your damn life and make a decision for yourself not others.''**_ For the first time the man showed genuine anger as he talked. _ **''Knowing you I wouldn't be surprised if you chose to truly become a devil for their sake rather than your own.''**_

The more I listened the more he was getting under my skin, I could see what he was pointing at and yet couldn't help but get rattled by it _. ''…I can take care of myself dammit.''_

'' _ **No, you can't.''**_ he stated coldly. The way he spoke… it wasn't like he was making a remark, it was like he was stating a well-known fact. _ **''For once in your life be selfish and decide what you want. It's for everyone's best interest that way.''**_

'' _Stop talking like you know me…''_

'' _ **Oh, I know more about you than you can even begin to imagine. Why don't you tell me the last time you did something selfish without caring about the others around you?''**_ I couldn't see him but I knew that he was showing a savage smile. _ **''No answer huh, I thought so.''**_

I really hated that he shut me up like this.

'' _ **In any case you should think carefully about what you will chose.''**_ He went on, this time far more composed. _ **''Trust me, when you make a choice like this you must be ready to face the consequences or you might just break down from it later.''**_

That statement made me narrow my eyes. _''Talking from experience?''_

'' _ **You really don't want to know.''**_ Archer sighed, clearly annoyed by this conversation. _'_ _ **'At the very least from what that Ajuka guy explained I got to know how I came into existence.''**_

'' _What's that supposed to mean?''_ I was genuinely confused by this bit.

'' _ **It's pretty simple when you think about it, when those evil piece tried reviving you, they also must have computed my existence within you since the card was still installed. At that moment it must have caused an error and it accidentally ended 'reviving' my consciousness from within the card.''**_

Huh… now that he mentions it, maybe the reason why the pieces failed was because they healed my body and revived Archer's consciousness. That must have indeed caused an error for them, like trying to look back and forth at the same time.

'' _Wait, I hear that sacred gear users get converted to devils without any problem. Saji has a sacred gear with a dragon's soul fragment in it. What makes us our case all that different?''_

'' _ **A class card contains the powers of a heroic spirit, not the very soul.''**_ He went on, a cold serious tone present in his voice. _ **''In order for one to take upon himself the powers of that heroic spirit the blueprints of its spiritual core get overplayed with the user's. Somehow the evil pieces were able to take those blueprints and empowered them, making me sentient.''**_

I continued nodding until I caught on the implication involved, my eyes widening in shock. _''Wait… so that would mean that you-''_

'' _ **Aren't even a real person?''**_ he finished my sentence unperturbed by it. _ **''Nope, not really.''**_

I was honestly unsure of how I was supposed to handle this. _''You seem awfully calm about it.''_

'' _ **Heroic Spirits can only manifest in the form of a servant, which by nature aren't the original souls of the heroes they represent. Their souls are forever protected within the throne of heroes, unable to be truly summoned within this plane of existence. The closest thing is creating copies of those heroes and placing them within a container that can handle their power, but that power is significantly reduced, skills and abilities are lost, and certain aspects of their personas are affected by the time of their life when they are summoned among other things.''**_

'' _ **We as servants are well aware that we aren't the originals, but it doesn't affect us, for at the core we are still the same as the ones we represent.''**_ He scoffed lightly as he went on. _ **''Besides it's pretty obvious given my condition that I am far from something normal, I knew from the start that my existence is some kind of bug or whim of fate.''**_

I was certainly unsure of how to comment about this. _''Even so… you are handling it way to well.''_

'' _ **I had my fair shares of being a plaything of fate. You get used to it at some point.''**_ With how he chuckled something told me he was smirking like a prick to me.

To my own surprise I also let out a chuckle yet I didn't understand why considering that I found this anything but amusing. _''Doesn't sound like something I would like to try.''_

'' _ **Then get busy growing up if you don't want to end up like me.''**_

''My, my, who do we have here?''

I opened my eyes and looked at the person that interrupted my conversation with Archer, in front of me was a familiar butler. ''Ronove-san.''

The man smiled casually at me as he walked next to me. ''No need for such formalities with me young Emiya, I'm just a humble butler so please feel free to call me Vincent.''

He says that and yet he is still the pawn of Serafall Leviathan and also the current holder of the title of Ultimate pawn. While I think it would be the proper conduct to show him the respect he deserves, if he says he is alright with a casual talk I have no reason to refuse. ''Then call me Shirou.''

''Noted.'' He nodded his head and gestured me to follow him. I did as he asked and started walking together with him in the hospital halls.

As our footsteps echoed through the halls I tried doing some small chat with the man. ''So what brings you here?''

''Oh, just running simple errands.'' He replied with a smile.

I nodded as I recalled what just happened to me and the others and started speculating for whom he was running these simple errands for. ''I guess this situation is causing a bit of trouble isn't it?''

''You don't even know the half of it.'' The goatee wearing man sighed and rubbed his eyes. ''All of the political nuisances that are taking place aside, it took me a lot of convincing to make Lady Serafall stop clinging onto Lady Sona and get back to work.''

While it was sweet knowing that she loved her sister, somehow the image of that black abomination hugging Sona wasn't really much of a pretty picture in my mind. ''It was that bad?''

''Normally I would let my mistress be given the circumstances, but we had very important foreign officials visiting and as the head of foreign affairs she has to personally handle this one, I had to convince her to go but that was easier said than done.'' His eyes were half closed as he continued and looked rather pissed. ''I was half tempted to use a magically enhanced crowbar to do so.''

''Oh…'' I muttered somewhat speechless, my respect for the man growing since he wasn't afraid of Sona's sister. ''So how did you do it?''

A satisfied smile spread on the man's lips. ''Much easier than you can imagine, I simply threatened her that I will throw out her magical girl merchandise collection.''

I nodded at this but found my eyes widening the following moments. ''Wait, what?''

The unperturbed smile still went on. ''Oh, you weren't aware, Lady Serafall is quite the avid fan, she even cosplays as one in her free time.''

My left eye was failing not to throb at this tide bit. ''I find that hard to believe.''

He was clearly finding my disbelief amusing by how he kept chuckling. ''You will soon see it when she visits Lady Sona on her free days.''

''And that threat really worked?''

''Like magic.'' He smirked amused at me. ''Lady Serafall has collected merchandise that, what do your people call it again, oh yes, otaku would kill to obtain. Limited edition items, autographed goods, first released copy, you name it, and she has it.''

Even though my overall fear for the woman wasn't subsiding, my respect on the other hand was certainly going down the drain. ''I'm starting to feel that all the rulers of hell are… eccentric.''

''Wait until you meet Lord Sirzechs Lucifer. Actually consider this a heads up and don't get too worked up over it, he certainly isn't like how the world imagined when they said Lucifer.'' As we reached the courtyard of the hospital the butler stopped in his tracks and focused on me, his jovial smile all gone. ''There was something I wanted to talk with you about.''

This sudden change of attitude put me a bit on the edge. ''What is it?''

Before I could even register it he stepped in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders, a dead serious gaze emanating from his eyes. ''I wanted to offer my gratitude for your valiant stand during the Zepar incident.''

A breath of ease escaped through my lips, it seems I got worked up for nothing. ''It's no big deal, I only did what I had to.''

''You give yourself far too little credit for what you did. I've known Sona for a very long time, the first time we met she couldn't even reach my knees, I was there and watched her grow into the fine young lady she is today.'' I could only blink in astonishment as the man bowed his head to me. ''She means a lot to me, so I give you my deepest gratitude for protecting her and her friends. If you ever find yourself in any trouble feel free to reach out for me.''

''T-there's no need to bow.'' I waved my hands to stop the man's display, this certainly was something new for me and quite frankly I felt a bit embarrassed by it. He says that it's thanks to me but everyone contributed in the rescue. In fact there were wounds I could have prevent if only I were more careful, if I did that maybe everything could have been solved without the others getting hurt so bad when we fought against Segrif's peerage. As I recalled everything that happened a sudden realization hit me about a certain woman. ''Actually there is something I want to know.''

''Such as?''

I took a moment and took in a deep breath, hoping that worst didn't happen while I was out. ''The Queen of Segrif Zepar, the one we brought along with us, Shahnaz. What happened to her?''

* * *

It didn't take long for the Sitri butler to lead me to the person in question, it took us less than three minutes to arrive there as she was also hospitalized here. When we reached her room we stumbled upon some minor trouble as it was guarded by two men. They didn't want to let us in at first but after Vincent gave the two men a smile and pat on their backs they let us through, to anyone around that was what it looked like but I saw the real reason, it was from brief influx of power he channeled into the two men that they got too scared to stand in his way, the way his red eyes also flashed dangerously might have also been an factor.

When we entered the room and I saw the state Shahnaz was in, I honestly wondered why the two guards were even there in the first place. ''Why is she like this?''

My muttered whisper was apparently heard by the butler, by his look he understood my confusion. Shahnaz was strapped to the bed with shackles similar to the ones Segrif used on us to suppress demonic power, and a series of medical machines were connected to her body, while I couldn't tell what most of them were from I could decipher to some extent the ones that showcased her vitals, she seemed stable at the very least. ''From what I heard and managed to learn from the doctors, it's a sort of side effect of her sacred gear. At first she could stay awake but as time went on she began to sleep more and more with the intervals of consciousness shortening until finally her current condition. They speculate that the next time she wakes up it will be the very last one before she falls in a state of total coma.'' The older Sitri devil explained as he stood against the wall, his eyes never leaving the patient in question.

''But why?'' I clenched my fist in frustration. ''She was still conscious when we escaped, so why is she like this?''

''Perhaps all of the built up strain had finally caught up to her.'' Vincent speculated as he walked next to her bed and rearranged a lone strand of hair that hanged over her eye. ''It apparently was being overused on a regular basis. An ability of such power without a doubt must have put an immense strain on her each time she used it, and from what I gathered she was also using it repeatedly during your encounter?''

I recalled the times she would rewind time when we fought. By all means she would have died many times over if not for her ability. It gave me a bitter taste in my mouth knowing that she also used it in order to save me. ''… Yes.''

''Sacred gears are known to evolve and adapt depending on the users will, there are however certain limits that must not be broken.'' Vincent remarked with genuine pity in his voice, a far cry from his usual upbeat and confident self. ''You have no idea how many promising youths have perished form overusing their gears.''

''A flame manipulator ended up burned to a crisp by his own flames. Another one with the ability to read minds went insane from all the voices that were heard in their head. Another that could phase through solid matter lost control and ending up falling all the way to earth's core. Those are just a few of the tragedies that befell various sacred gear holders that bit off more than could chew.''

''I see…'' I nodded slightly as I recalled some of the history I saw within Shahnaz's sacred gear. One previous user for instance grew old and weak so he tried using it to rewind his body back to his youthful prime and attempted what he called a grand rewind, however he lost control and ended up rewinding his body till the point he didn't exist.

My hand reached to grasp hers but stopped when it felt the cold touch of the metal shackles encasing her arms. ''Were the shackles really necessary though given her condition?''

''It is necessary I'm afraid.'' Vincent sighed tiredly. ''I am well aware that she betrayed her master and saved your life but it doesn't justify her involvement in the abduction. All of her remaining former allies are now in custody and are awaiting trial for their actions. While I can guarantee that this woman will receive lenience for helping you, in the end it won't allow her to walk away unpunished. The best we can hope for is that she receives a more bearable sentence.''

I barely held in the urge to punch the wall out of frustration. After everything that happened, after everything that this woman had to endure, she isn't even allowed the chance for the freedom she deserved.

I wanted so desperately to help her somehow but I couldn't even think of a plausible solution.

A brief silence took place between us, the only sound heard was the one made by the medical machines. Even though I didn't look directly at the man I knew that he was keeping a close eye on me, analyzing my every move as I kept watching over Shahnaz's unconscious form. This went on for a couple of minutes before he finally let out a tired sigh and walked behind me, patting me on the shoulder. ''I do not know the full story between the two of you, but it seems like you have something to tell her.''

With a spin on his heels he turned around and walked out, stopping briefly at the doorstep. ''Try not to take too long, even if she is in this state she still needs rest.''

When the door closed behind him I was left alone with Shahnaz.

''… Hey.'' I managed to mutter after a couple of long minutes. ''Well this awkward… talking like this.''

Seriously it's one thing to talk to someone and be ignored but talking to someone that can't even reply or which you aren't even sure that is hearing you in the first place was truly odd, and yet I went on. ''I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I need to say this while I still can.''

There was no guarantee she will be kept here, for all I know she could be transferred to some special medical facilities for criminals, and I might never get a chance to see her again. ''What you did for me… even though you had the chance and all the reason to leave me there to die you still went out of your way and saved me. The person you previously were clashing blades against. ''

I wrapped my hand around hers and pressed it against my forehead, bitterness present in my mouth as I couldn't do this without her being in such a state. ''I guess I'm trying to say… thank you.''

There were no more words left for me to say and I began to leave.

Before I could even take a step I felt something wrap around my wrist, the beeping sounds of the medical machines also changed, becoming more accentuated. My head slowly turned back and I saw the person who stopped me. ''W-Wait…''

My eyes widened as I stared into Shahnaz's now open black eyes. ''… You're awake?''

''N-Not for long…'' she replied in a strained and haggard voice, sweat running all over her face.

From the way she breathed, the way her body was shaking and how her eyes looked like they were struggling to stay open I knew that she was anything but fine. ''Stay calm, I will go and get some help.''

I tried to dash for someone from the medical staff but Shahnaz wouldn't let go of my hand. ''It's no use… it can't be stopped at this point.'' She huffed sadly. ''There are many conditions to my sacred gear, and many draw backs. I always subconsciously knew about it, but I never gave it too much attention since it never came down to it. However there is one taboo that I wasn't supposed to break no matter what, otherwise there would be dire consequences.''

As I heard this my fist tightened, a part of me realized what she was referring to but I still asked, hoping that I was wrong. ''What was it?''

She tried stabilizing her breath before answering. ''Rewriting time for one's self isn't an issue, but willingly rewriting time to prevent another's death was something that I wasn't allowed to do.''

I wasn't sure what it was exactly I felt disappointment perhaps, maybe it was shame, but as I took this knowledge in my eyes cringed and looked to the side, unable to look the woman in the eyes. ''That means when you saved me-''

''I broke that rule and am now paying the price.'' She said that, and yet there didn't seem to be any regret in her strained voice.

''Why…?'' I whispered slowly, unable to understand. ''Why did you save me even though you knew what would happen?''

She was silent for a few moments as she pondered. ''I guess… seeing how you never stopped trying even though you knew it was an battle you had no way of winning inspired me. The kindness that you showed to one you had all the reason to hate, it made me want to be like you. For that I couldn't let you die.''

Her answer didn't make me feel any better. ''Even so… the cost you have to pay.''

''It was worth it.'' She whispered gently a subtle smile forming on her lips. ''I made that choice out of my own will, not for someone else's sake, but my own. I told you that I was a slave before joining Segrif, because of that I never knew what it was like to make my own decisions. After I became Segrifs queen that didn't change, perhaps I simply latched onto him because I didn't have anything else. I adored him for giving me some degree of freedom but deep down I knew it was fake and I was deluding myself.''

''I saw the things he did, the self-destructing path he was heading on that would eventually drag all of his pieces down with him. Even so, I refused to wake up from that fantasy.'' Her trembling hand reached out and rubbed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming forth. ''Meeting you was what finally gave me the courage to escape from my own self-made prison.''

She reached out for me and grabbed me by the head, pulling me closer to her, resting her forehead against mine, and making it so I could look her straight in her tear filled eyes. ''So please, do not accuse yourself for what will happen to me. For me whether it was intentional or not, what you did means more than I can ever hope to repay you.''

As I stared into her black orbs the feelings inside me were in conflict. I couldn't deny that I felt guilty for her state, that if I was just a bit stronger or careful it wouldn't have come to this while on the other spectrum I wanted to listen to her request even though I didn't think I deserved to.

The inner struggle went on until I felt the tears that ran down her face land on my hands. Even though it was a simple action in words alone, it didn't lessen the tug I felt in my chest. With a strained sigh I reached out and took hold of her hands. Maybe one day I will learn to forgive myself but I will never forget my weakness and will strive to never let something like this happen again. ''… I understand.''

It was weird, the smile that spread on her face might have looked off-putting together with tears running down her eyes and runny nose, but to me all I saw was a beautiful woman finally finding the closure she desired. ''Thank you.''

I only sat in silence as the pulled me into a hug, her head resting on my shoulder. As awkward as I felt from the sudden embrace I sat in silence and let her be, no more words were needed.

At some point she tightened the grip on my shirt, as if it was a lifeline, her head still buried in my shoulder.

''There is something you must know, I don't have much time left so please listen carefully.'' She slowly began, her voice noticeably weaker than before. ''There are instances when I rewind time that I see glimpses of things to come, random flashes of events that will happen. At the very last moment when I reversed time for you I caught a glimpse of your future.''

A cold pit began forming in my stomach, a brooding feeling surging through my body at the possibilities of what she might have seen. After all, I doubt she would have brought this up if what she saw was something insignificant. ''What did you see?''

''It was rather hazy but I saw you down on your knees, rain was pouring without end all around you. In your arms you were desperately holding onto a woman, but it wasn't an act of affection.'' My blood ran cold as I heard the rest. ''Her chest was torn open from the inside out.''

The air got stuck in my throat, for a brief moment I forgot about the condition the woman was in and yanked her away, grabbing her by the shoulders in panic. ''What did she look like?!''

When I saw her face grimace in pain I realized that I was hurting her and immediately let go, giving her a small apology. ''I couldn't see, her features were all blurry. All that I saw was the look of utter despair plastered on your face.''

''Was there anything else you saw, anything at all?''

She took a moment and closed her eyes to complete. ''There was something… far away in the distance… there was a man wrapped in a black cloak.

I started rubbing my eyes in an attempt to calm myself and think everything properly. ''Dammit… That isn't helping me very much.''

My answer made the woman bow her head down in shame. ''I'm sorry but this all I can offer. I have no way of telling when or how it will happen, but I know for certain that it will if left alone.''

The fact that there's no telling when it may happen is very concerning but I have no means of figuring it out besides being careful. A tired sigh escaped my lips as I put down my hand. ''No, it's okay. Better to know about it and stay sharp then stay oblivious and let it happen.''

Shahnaz opened her mouth to talk but the words died in it, suddenly clutching her chest as the medical devices started to beep uncontrollably. I got up with the intention of calling for help but the stopped me and woman shook her head.

Her time was up.

''T-The future isn't set in stone Emiya Shirou. As long as one never falters in front of it they may just find the means to change it. You are the one to prove that to me.'' Her upper body lost its strength and fell back in the hospital bed. Even though she looked like it was pure torture to simply stay awake she still reached her hand out to me, all I could do was hold it as her eyes slowly closed. ''For bringing hope and peace of mind to one that abandoned it and submitted herself to her fate, I thank you… and I wish you farewell.''

The sounds of the medical machines went low as the woman's eyes closed, her weakened hand slipped out of mine and landed lifelessly on the bed sheets.

I gazed silently at her, a bitter taste permeating in my mouth.

She was still alive… but who knows how long it will be before she wakes up again. That was of course if she will ever wake up again.

My hands tightened in a pair of fists as my head fell down in shame but I steeled my heart and swallowed this bitter pill. I made a promise to this woman, as difficult as it was I wasn't planning on breaking it.

I will move forward.

There was nothing left to do and I got up to leave, stopping for one brief second at the door. ''Goodbye Shahnaz-san… I hope that one day we may meet again.''

It was weird… the very moment I closed the door I could have sworn I heard one last whisper from her.

'' _As do I… my hero.''_

* * *

When I left the room I was greeted by Vincent leaning on the wall in front of the hall, a calculating look present on his features. ''Is it done?''

''Yes.''

He nodded as he straightened himself and arranged his suit. ''Did that talk bring you some closure?''

I rubbed the head sheepishly as I let out a tired sigh. ''To some extent…''

He nodded as he walked next to me, placing his hand my shoulder as he was about to pass by. ''I will speak with my mistress and make sure that the former Zepar Queen will be transferred to a private ward, somewhere where she won't be bothered by any unsavory people interested in her sacred gear.''

A shallow chuckle escaped my lips as they curled slightly. ''You have my thanks.''

''It's nothing, I'm sure Sona will also want that.'' Vincent smiled gently as he resumed his walk. ''Well then I must take my leave, as much as I enjoy our little chats I still have work to do. Have a good day Shirou-kun.''

''Goodbye Vincent-san.''

''Oh, a small heads up. '' he turned his head around just as he was about to turn the corner. ''My mistress will also like to show you her gratitude for saving her sister, so expect her to invade your personal space and shower you with kisses when the two of you meet.''

A sudden chill went down my spine as that particular imagine formed in my mind. ''You're joking right?''

''Maybe?'' He chuckled as he left, leaving me in perpetual fear of what may happen when I meet up with Sona's sister in the future.

* * *

After walking through the hospital halls I finally found my way out to the courtyard. It was nice change to finally get some fresh air since apparently devil hospitals have the same smell as human ones and I don't really find it pleasant.

''I see you're awake Emiya Shirou.''

I turned around to the person calling me out and to my surprise on a nearby bench I found the man that aided us during the recent incident. ''Sairaorg-san?''

I walked over to the man and we both exchanged a handshake before taking a seat next to the Bael heir. ''How are your wounds?''

''Fine, I guess.'' I replied sheepishly.

The buff man offered me a vibrant smile as he went on. ''That's good to hear, the hospital staff was in a complete frenzy when you were brought in the O.R.''

''That so….'' I laughed a bit embarrassed, I recall the others saying the same thing when I woke up earlier. My eyes trailed at the dozen of badges wrapped around the man's bulky arms and at the ones peaking up from under his shirt. '' I see they got you patched up as well.'

The man simply laughed it off and waved his hand. ''Trust me my condition isn't remotely as bad as it looks, the staff were just very meticulous since I am the heir of the house of Bael and they couldn't risk even the slightest possibility of me exiting their hospital with any untreated wound.''

When he puts it like that it does make sense, since devil heirs are nobility it would be really bad if they didn't get the best of care. ''Can't say I blame them, fighting a lion of that strength must have made them very concerned.''

''Most of my wounds were shallow gashes and minor bite wounds, Regulus and I mostly wrestled each other so there weren't any life threatening wounds.''

''I see.'' I nodded then realized something crucial, when we were teleported away from the Zepar hideout, the lion also tagged along. ''Speaking of which where is he?''

''He's over there.'' To my surprise Sairaorg pointed behind himself with his thumb.

I looked curiously and a couple of meters behind us there is a natural plaza where the patients could go for strolls. In the middle of it the golden Nemea lion sat and appeared to have taken a nap in the sunlight, which made his glorious mane shine even brighter than usual. After looking carefully I could notice that he was also sporting many bandages around his body. ''They left him outside?''

''It was for the best, Regulus would lash out to anyone that dared approach him, even the doctors that wanted to help him. The only one he lets come close and not react violently is me, so I had to tend his wounds myself.''

Considering that he pretty much tried to make a chew toy out of me and the others first thing he got free I wasn't really surprised. ''That must have been difficult.''

Sairaorg chucked and rubbed his neck somewhat bashfully. ''Not really, I have a lot of practice putting on bandages.''

''That so…'' I nodded but my eyes never left the lion alone. ''But isn't it dangerous for the patients and staff to leave him out there?''

''I talked with him and he will behave, as long as no one gets too close he will just nap there.'' He crossed his arms and sighed tiredly. ''The real problem is that he will need time to readjust to the outer world. As the two of us fought I managed to earn his respect and we eventually started to talk things over. I was able to calm him to some extent but that only is limited to me, even if someone walks over to him with peaceful intentions he will lash out at them violently.''

The more I heard him talk about the lion the more intrigued I got. ''You sure seem to understand how he behaves.''

''It's not that difficult to understand once you consider his circumstances. He had his soul caged in a sacred gear, stripped of his liberty, forced to give his power to generations of users whom I can imagine have never showed any understanding or said as much as a thank you in return.'' There was brief pause as he glanced over at the lion. ''While I don't condone how he reacted towards you and your friends when he got released, I think I would lash out pretty violently as well if I went through what he did.''

That was a fair point, though it only raising more questions. ''What will happen to him?''

''It's a bit of a delicate situation, the fact that Segrif managed to recruit its former user was something the devil council wasn't aware of and really took them by surprise more than the whole fiasco itself, even though the lion is now free he is still a Longinus sacred gear at his core and the knowledge of him being on devil territory may cause a bit of panic both on the devils side for the danger he represents but also for other factions as well due to being a potential weapon to use against them.'' He ruffled his hair in frustration clearly not enjoying the situation. ''I talked with Lord Ajuka Beelzebub and for the time being Regulus will be put under my care. Whether it will be decided to leave him with me or lock him up until a new host for him is chosen it all comes down to if I can manage to pacify him or not.''

I nodded as I understood the implications involved, as it stands the lion is a powerful weapon that can't be left alone and must be brought one way or another under devil jurisdiction, the higher up's probably don't care if it remains with Sairaorg or some other devil noble as long as it doesn't fall in the hands of some other faction. As such until a final decision is made the information that the lion is here in the first place must be kept secret. ''So that means I need to keep silent about it?''

''Not too happy about it either but order are orders.'' The Bael sighed as he cracked his neck, gazing with the corner of his eye at me. ''I'm sure your situation isn't any easier.''

My hand twitched slightly as I heard this, it appeared that more people knew about my particular case than I was aware off. ''So you know…''

''Due to my involvement I was informed about the situation.''

There didn't seem to be any malice or distaste in his voice regarding the fact that I'm still human. From what I hear devils and most supernatural creatures look down on humans and if I were a betting man I'm sure that many devils would take insult in my very existence. With that in mind I can't help but wonder what Sairaorg Bael had to say about my situation. ''How do you feel about it?''

The man crossed his arms in silence for a few moments and flashed me an approving smile. ''Frankly, I'm impressed.''

His answer truly took me by surprise, my eyes blinking repeatedly in response. ''Impressed?''

A sudden spark of excitement ignited in the man's eyes. ''Why yes! In spite of still being human you have been keeping up with your comrades that are devils, no scratch that, you clearly outstrip them. Segrif wasn't by any means a major threat but he wasn't a weakling either. I doubt I could have fought him without getting a little roughed up myself and you fought him despite being injured and exhausted yet still came out victorious. ''

He stopped himself the moment he realized he was getting far too excited than was necessary and crossed his arms. ''In any case don't worry I will keep silent about it, after all I want to see how far you can reach by your own means.''

I think I was beginning to see why Sona holds such respect for the man. He certainly wasn't from the same cut as other high class devils are from.

''Actually that reminds me.'' He unfolded his arms and extended one of them to me. ''Can you extend your arm?''

I was a bit skeptical from the sudden request. ''Why?''

''Just humor me.''

While I still didn't see where he was heading with this I decided to do as he said. When I offered him my arm he started to squeeze on it in different areas. I did feel a bit awkward since it almost felt like the man was copping a feel from me but the calculating look on his face made me realize that there was more to it than that and I let him finish. ''I had my hunch when we shook hands earlier, but now that I felt them I can tell that your muscles are very tense. You've been keeping a very strict training regime, while it does seem to offer good results there's a lot of built up stress in your body.''

He gave me a light slap on my shoulder as he finished his inspection. ''Take a couple of days off and just relax, you deserve it, especially after this whole Zepar fiasco.''

So that's what he was checking out, judging by his breathtaking physique he must have worked his body in ways I can't even begin to imagine, and probably learned a thing or two about muscles as well since he could now tell by touch alone how strained they were.

While this was good advice, I didn't really take it well.

''Not sure if I will do that to be honest, this whole ordeal made me realize I still have a long ways to go as a fighter.'' I admitted somewhat dejectedly as memories of the previous fights flashed through my mind. ''I have to keep improving even though I feel sometimes that pure physical training isn't enough.''

When I glanced over to the man his eyes were closed with a contemplating look etched upon his face. When his eyes opened they had a look akin to a burning passion within them.

''Listen carefully Emiya Shirou, we as living beings have limits put on our bodies from the day we are born, once you realize those limits you may give up trying to overcome them.'' He got up from the bench and started walking to the open area, his eyes keeping track of a large rain cloud that was hovering above us. ''Many times I felt the despair of those limits, but my body and these fists were the only weapon I had.''

The cloud darkened the courtyard we were in, small droplets of rain began to pour. ''There is a threshold that only those who have broken through their limits time and time again can step onto.''

My eyes went wide as something was happening to Sairaorg. Some kind of mist like white aura was forming around his body. It wasn't demonic in nature, that I was certain of as it lack that particular scent. This one felt like something of nature, a presence that was bursting with life force.

The aura collected around his fist as he took a fighting stance preparing to strike. He then aimed right at the sky, with a mighty battle cry he threw his fist up into the air and the aura around it burst forward like a raging tsunami.

I felt one lone rain drop land on my face as I stared at the cloud above. A thunder like boom echoed through the sky, the cloud exploding and scattering until there wasn't a single trace of it left, only the bright sun burning proudly.

My eyes slowly looked down at the man. ''I am one of the few devils that reached this stage, if not the only one currently alive.''

My mouth ran dry as I processed what I just saw. I could tell that what was displayed wasn't something achieved by a spell or some ability generated by a sacred gear. It was the culmination of this man's physical prowess.

Incredible.

He was able to create such a pressure with pure physical strength alone. That amount of force from that blow could probably turn a normal person into bloody stain on the wall should his fist strike them, in fact the pressure alone would probably be enough to do the job.

I could tell from first glance from his body that he must be keeping a strict training regime but I wasn't truly realizing the extent of what he put his body through to reach such a level.

''You on the other hand possess something that gives you an advantage not even I have.'' The Bael devil walked towards me and lightly tapped over my heart with his fist, pointing at it. ''Your humanity.''

For the second time in the span of a few minutes this man made me speechless.

''Because of it you have tens if not hundreds of more limits than devils have, that being said you have many walls to break through, which may perhaps lead you to reaching this stage even faster than I did or longer depending on your progression. It's still early, but I can tell, you're on the right track so never falter on your path.'' He picked my hand and gave it a weird squeeze around the wrist, causing it to shake violently in response. ''However I want you to keep in mind to never go in like a fool, all of it is pointless if you break your body in the process. Take it from me, I once overdid things in my rash judgment pushing myself to far in training and ended up breaking my fist so badly it took me six months to properly heal it.''

Even though I saw where he was going with this discussion I couldn't help but nitpick at what he said. ''Couldn't you have used a phoenix tear or get it healed by magic?''

''I tried but my mother forbade it.'' He replied as he crossed his arms.

My eyes couldn't help but blink confused at this. ''What?''

''She told me many times that this was going to happen yet I still refused to listen and that was the result. In the end it was meant as a lesson for me regarding my rash behavior.'' He went on and I couldn't help but notice a fondness in his voice when his spoke of his mother even though what she did could be considered by many a cruel act. ''Call it tough love or whatever you want, but she was right. There were many times I was frustrated when I couldn't use my arm, but I realized the lesson she wanted me to learn.''

He lifted his arm and flexed it, the veins in it bulging and throbbing. ''My body is my fist, once it breaks I lose it all.''

My eyes drifted at my own arm as I flexed it, yet no matter how much I looked at it the feeling of it being incomplete never went away for it lacked a weapon to grasp. A dry chuckle escaped my lips as I looked back at Sairaorg. ''I guess I'm more of a sword than a fist.''

''Fist, sword, it's the same principal. Once it breaks it's over, so never become too obsessed with training and know how to properly balance it.''

After hearing this I recalled what had transpired during the first encounter I had in the enemy base, how I crippled my hands by acting rashly. The frustration I felt when the others fought and I could only stare unable to properly help them… I never want to repeat that sort of situation again.

''You're right… once you break your means of fighting you are forced to watch helplessly as events that you could have stopped go on.'' I paused as I brought my hand forward. ''I will keep what you said in mind.''

''That's the spirit.'' The Bael heir gave me an electrifying smile as he shook my hand. ''Well then, I have go get Regulus his meal, trust me when I say that lions can be really cranky when they are hungry.''

I don't know why but the corner of my mouth twitched as I heard this. ''For some reason I can't help but agree with you.''

Just as he was about to talk away he stopped in his tracks and pointed to the opposite side of the plaza. ''By the way, if you're looking for Sona she is in the backyard.''

I nodded and took a look at the sky, it was about time I had a word with my former master.

* * *

The backyard was certainly a sight to see, the sheer amount of plants and flowers decorating it had an almost soothing effect, making one feel at ease simply by walking and enjoying their scent. It was much bigger than the main courtyard and it did take me a while until I caught sight of Sona.

Or it was more precise to say that I caught wind of Sona shouting annoyingly. When I tracked her down she was sitting on the grass on a small hill and appeared to be in a rather heated argument with someone over a communication spell.

''I'm sorry, but as I already told you I don't have anyone that can help.'' She kept arguing on the line as I made my way to her, when I arrived behind her she took notice of the sudden shadow looming over her. When she turned around her features softened and brightened, but it was short-lived as an annoyed scowl took its place. ''I'll call you back later.''

Even though she cut off the communication and was waiting for me to talk, I stood silent and stared at her face. ''What?''

''Umm…'' I muttered in contemplation, trying to the best way to tell her what was bugging me.

''Just spill it out already.'' My lack of answering only made Sona's scowl deepen. I could only sigh tiredly and trace a mirror, giving it to Sona letting her see what was causing my awkward silence. She took it and was curiously checking her appearance reflected by the mirror, her eyes almost popping out of her head when she saw her face. ''… Dammit onee-sama.''

It would seem that Vincent wasn't exaggerating when he said that Sona's sister was rather open with showing her affection, that being said Sona was currently busy rubbing off the dozen or so lipstick marks she had on her face. ''I find it surprising she did that to you.''

My remark only made Sona cringe as she rubbed the living daylights out of her skin. ''Trust me, she can be over affectionate to the point of being obnoxious.''

I didn't voice it but I knew her pain. Iri also had no sense of personal space and has showered me and Illya with far too much attention and affection on numerous occasions. ''How bad are we talking?''

''Bad enough to give your mother a run for her money.'' She stated dead serious as she got rid of the last remaining lipstick.

The information made my mind go blank. Somehow my mind failed making an image of what Sona must have endured while growing up. There was only one word that came to my mind. ''Ouch…''

The face Sona had made looked like someone shoved a lemon covered in salt in her mouth. ''Yeah, but she is my sister and I somewhat got used to it.''

I could only nod solemnly as I took a seat next to her on the grass.

Silence fell upon us for the following minutes.

''So… '' I trailed in an attempt to restart the conversation but the awkwardness between us didn't make it any better. ''Apparently I'm still human it seems.''

''…'' Sona didn't respond, she instead reached for the lower pocket of her shirt and pulled out a small red silk pouch. She handed it to me and gestured to open it. ''Beelzebub-sama gave me these as a replacement for the ones that got destroyed.''

As I heard this I understood what was inside and wasn't surprised when I opened it and gazed at the evil pieces in it. My eyes stayed on them for a bit before handing them back to Sona, a bit uncertain of why she showed them to me. ''You don't seem very happy about it.''

My remark clearly pressed the wrong button judging by the glare Sona threw at me. ''Should I?''

For some reason I felt I was walking on thin ice so I tried brightening the conversation. ''Well I mean the old ones broke and I apparently can't be converted so I thought that maybe you could get a new-''

It was at that moment I realized I dun goofed.

''I don't want a new pawn dammit!'' Sona, the usual picture of being calm and collected screamed in pure unadulterated frustration at me. To my own surprise I backed away slightly in response, the enraged glare she threw at me was something else entirely. However just like a lighting strike, it came in with blinding speed but lasted only for a few seconds. Sona's features softening as she calmed down and averted her gaze. ''… My apologies, I shouldn't have snapped out like that.''

In all honestly I felt like a jerk, even though I didn't know exactly why. Once again I failed to understand women.

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, trying to think of a way I might repair this conversation. ''Do you want to talk about it?''

Her eyes were downcast as she stared at the blades of grass waving in the wind, an impassive look present in her violet orbs. ''… I'm not satisfied with this turn of events Shirou, not one bit.''

Perhaps I haven't thought of how she felt regarding this whole situation. Who knows how learning that I was still human affected her. Whatever it was, I wasn't the only one involved in this. ''I know that this whole thing is a bit overwhelming, trust me I know, but it's not something worth stressing over.''

Frustration was spreading on her face as she bit on her lower lip, threatening to draw blood before she continued to speak. ''I… we all grew close to you. As hard as you might find it to believe everyone cares for you and I don't want to say goodbye either.''

''Why do you say that?'' I asked confused. ''It's not like I'm going away or anything.''

My reply didn't seem to brighten her up at all. ''Things won't be same from now on.''

''Why do they have to be?'' I tried reasoning. ''I can still keep being a member of the student council, I can still join you guys on training sessions, stray hunts and other stuff. I just won't do as a pawn, but as a friend.''

For a brief moment she chuckled, but it wasn't a happy one. It felt bitter and shallow.

''Look Shirou, no matter how much you sugar coat it the facts still remain.'' She trailed as she leaned over on my side and rested her head over my shoulder. ''All we can do is move forward and see what life has in store for us.''

I might have felt a bit uncomfortable with her so close to me but I didn't voice it. While I may not understand social interaction with the opposite sex, even I knew that this was one of those moments I shouldn't ruin. ''If it's any consolation there is a part of me that was a bit sad when I learned the truth.''

She shifted her head and lifted it to look me in the eyes. ''Shirou, please answer one single question, but be honest with me.''

This made me raise an eyebrow. ''Ask away.''

Her lips parted and a heavy breath followed as she began. ''Was the time you spent with us meaningful?''

Her question took me by surprise, and yet it didn't confuse me. Why would it since it was something that I had no doubt about. ''I don't think I need to answer that since you already know my answer.''

Violet orbs went wide in response, a small smirk forming on her lips as she took back her seat on my shoulder. ''Typical.''

We just sat like this for the following hour, simply watching over the gardens with the occasional small talk. This was probably the first time the two of us sat so casually like this, and in all honesty it didn't feel bad.

''You know I really thought that one day when my dream is finally realized you would be there to celebrate alongside me as one of my precious household members.'' Sona remarked rather offhandly.

Yet, it piqued my interest. ''Your dream?''

She blinked a couple of times and a surprised look became present on her face. ''Oh, I never did tell you, did I?''

I waved my head and gestured her to go on. ''My dream is to open a Rating Game school here in the underworld.''

Unfortunately I wasn't seeing the point. ''A school, that's all?''

My unimpressed reaction certainly annoyed her. ''No, not just 'a school', but a school that will allow devils of any status or background to learn.''

I didn't voice my confusion, there wasn't any reason to Sona went on to explain.

''As you may know, rating games can change a devils life completely if they get the chance to participate.'' Her features grew bitter as she went on. ''The rules of society prevent that unfortunately. Only devils of high class status or above are given the right to form peerages and participate in rating games. I want to change that, I want the people who have the drive to aim for greatness to receive the chance they deserve.''

''Can I ask you why?'' I asked slowly, even though it was an admirable dream, I was confused by the reason for it. ''I keep hearing that devils of your status usually don't care for the lower classes, and after meeting someone like Segrif I'm starting to believe it. So I want to know what made you want to change the status quo.''

''That is a fair question.'' Sona nodded as her eyes trailed to the sky, nostalgia present in them. ''I guess everything started when I was little.''

''To my shame I was like most devils that I now detest. I used to be selfish and self-absorbed and never really cared for the lower classes, believing myself as better simply because of my pedigree and rank. Everything changed when my sister took me to a festival that was held in the capital. At one point I got lost in the crowd and tried looking for her, however I only encountered more problems along the way.''

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. ''Such as?''

''It's a common prank within devil youths to place teleportation traps in random places for unknowing people to walk into and teleport them to who knows where.'' She explained in grimace, the memory of the event clearly not a pleasant one. ''By the time that I realized it I ended up in one of the slums of one of the extinct houses territory far away from my sister or home.''

''At the time I was still learning how to use magic and didn't know how to properly teleport home or call for help. The only thing I could do was look around and hope I could find help.'' Her hands tightened around her arms. ''I never saw such poverty and poor living conditions before… I lived in the clean and peaceful streets of the Sitri territory, so everything that I saw was all quite shocking to me. Before I knew it some thugs saw me and realized by my clothes that I was nobility and they thought that they could get a good chunk of money by ransoming me.''

The grip of her arms tightened even further. ''I ran and ran, so scared of them and everything that was happening. As you can imagine they caught up with me and immobilized me, at that moment I didn't care who or what it was, I wanted nothing but someone to save me.''

''It was at that time that he came walking by.'' A spark of admiration ignited in her eyes as she went on. ''He was a member of the slums, I could tell by the way he looked, and by all means he had no reason to help me and yet he confronted the four men and tried to save me. I still remember it even after so many years… It was simply breath taking… his speed, his strength, his dexterity… all of those were far greater than any of the high class devils I grew up around.''

I nodded slowly, taking in every word she said. ''What happened after that?''

''When he was done he took me to a nearby outpost so I could get help and go back home. It was as we walked there that I built up my courage and asked him how he was able to reach such strength. In spite of the poverty and poor living conditions he was very sharp and instantly caught on to why I was so confused. He told me that one's blood or status doesn't amount to one's strength; it is the power of one's conviction that can be turned into true strength. It was those words that changed my life.''

For a few brief moments she went silent, a sad longing filling her eyes.

''That was the first and last time I saw the man… I never even got the chance to thank him for saving me. I couldn't help but imagine how amazing he could have been if he were able to participate in rating games, but it was then that reality checked in and I realized he wouldn't have been allowed to do so due to his low status. Only high-class and above are given the privilege of receiving Evil pieces.''

Her mood began to turn sour as she went on. ''It wasn't long before I realized that there are probably many like him out there. There are people with immense potential, talent, and skill that struggle and aren't allowed the chance to prove themselves due to their situation or circumstances.''

She got up from her seat and faced me, the wind blowing as she stood in front of me. I didn't comment that her skirt was fluttering and I was getting small peeks of her pink panties.

''So I decided to try and change that.'' She stated with determination, unaware of what the wind was doing. ''The school is my plan to do it, one day all devils will get the chance they deserve to have.''

I averted my eyes to the side, unable to look at her, trying to get my mind back on the conversation. ''When you put it like that, it sounds like an amazing dream.''

''That's sweet of you, but I am well aware of how childish it is.'' She chuckled slightly, but it wasn't just amusement, there was a tinge of bitterness present in it. ''Changing the old ways of my society has always been one of the hardest challenges. The only reason a system like the Evil piece was allowed in the first place was out of necessity, if there wasn't the risk of my race's extinction such an idea would have never been considered let alone approved.''

Her hands balled into fists as her gaze wandered upwards at the infinite sky above. ''I have a long struggle ahead of me.''

I took a moment and stared at the bespectacled girl. The always confident and strict student council President wasn't in front of me now, just a girl with a dream who knows will lead her to many hardships and yet her gaze never faltered. She realized the consequences of her dream but still doesn't let go, and quite frankly it was inspiring.

There was however one detail she wasn't noticing.

''True as that may be…'' I began slowly, garnering her attention. ''It's not a struggle you will have to endure alone, after all you still have everyone here to support you. Tsubaki, Reya, Momo, Tomoe, Tsubasa, Ruruko, Saji, and I, we will all be there to for you.''

My words took the girl by surprise, her glasses dropping slightly on her nose. She simply sat in silence until the corners of her lips began to curl up and she started chuckling softly. ''… Yes, I have my precious household, plus a wannabe human swordsman with a skull thicker than the gates of Hell.''

She continued to chuckle as she threw herself in the grass next to me, stretching the lips as an eager yawn escaped her lips. It seemed my words had more of an effect than I realized. As she rolled around in the grass she turned to me and offered me a curious stare. ''You know Shirou… telling you all of this made me realize something.''

This made me curious as well. ''What is it?''

''Shirou what do you fight for?'' She asked as she picked herself up back to my level. ''What is the thing that drives you so much?''

That was… a surprising question to say the least. It wasn't that I didn't have an answer, just that the question itself surprised me. ''I just don't want to see people suffer in front of me…''

My answer clearly didn't satisfy her given the expression on her face. ''That is something normal, but I want to know why it drives you at such an extent to risk your life the way you do. Don't get me wrong, courage and camaraderie are noble reasons to put your life on the line but there is a limit to how far those can push you, and yet you never stop in your tracks.''

''There's not much I can give as an answer, I've always been this way. '' I admitted somewhat awkwardly, and for a brief moment the image of a familiar man flashed through my mind. ''Yet… If I were to find a justification for my actions… I guess a part of it is because I want to be like my father.''

This bit clearly got her attention. ''How so?''

I might as well answer her question with another question. ''You are a rather cautious person, have you ever run a background check on me?''

''I admit I did so, but I didn't really find anything that would answer any of my questions.'' There was shame present in her voice but it didn't stop her. ''All I could find out about you were things that happened after you were officially adopted into the Emiya family, there wasn't anything before that.''

''Can't be surprised really, I don't recall much but I was caught in a disaster when I was little. Emiya Kiritsugu was the man that saved me that night when I lost everything, my family, my home, my memories, and even my old self.'' Nostalgia ran through me as I recalled that sight. ''The way that I saw him at that time… that happy look on his face… it inspired me… it made me wonder how great it would be to be like him.''

A series of emotion ignited in me as memories of the life I lived together with the man echoed in my mind. ''I want to be a man that could save people no matter how grim or impossible the situation seems, to bring back hope to those that have abandoned it. Just like how dad did for me.''

When I turned around to look at Sona her eyes were wide open, the shock clearly present within them was quite obvious, and it made me feel like I just told her something outrageous like I will become an exorcist or something. It took a bit before she composed herself, licking her dried lips before she replied. ''Shirou… what you're describing… isn't what you want basically becoming a hero?''

''A hero…'' those words left my mouth almost mechanically, and like a spark something ignited in me. Almost like adding the very last cog into a machine to make it work. A cog so small and insignificant at first glance but one that surprisingly had the most important role within the whole frame. Honestly it felt like a blindfold was finally taken off my eyes and I could finally see what I truly wanted. ''Yes… I see… all this time it was in front of me and yet I didn't realize it.''

My hands balled in fists as I looked at the black haired girl, a smile which probably looked goofy forming on my face. ''… I want to become a hero.''

Sona was silent at first, then she burst into laughter. It wasn't directed at my dream that much I knew. ''Guess we both have childish dreams.''

It seems her laugh was contagious since I also started chuckling. ''So it seems.''

Before I knew it her hand was extended in front of me, offering a handshake. ''How about we see who can achieve their dream first?''

It was weird to be honest, this whole situation. Everything that led up to this point, but I cherished all of it all the same.

''You're on.'' I smiled as I took her hand and gave her firm shake, curiously though she started staring at my hand with a rather complex look. ''What?''

She woke up from her daze and almost startled when she heard me. ''Nothing… I was just wondering how I never noticed it before.''

''Notice what?''

''You have strong hands.'' Sona stated a serious and calculating look present on her face.

''Thanks… I guess?'' I could only shrug in response. Not the first time I was told this, and something told me it won't be the last. ''By the way, you seemed rather bothered by something when I got here. Did something happen?''

My question quickly made her mood go sour. ''Not quite, just an old promise I made to someone which I don't think I can keep.''

''If there's anything I can help just ask.''

She smiled but also sighed tiredly. ''You don't have to be so dedicated anymore, you're no longer my pawn Shirou.''

This actually stung me a little. ''Just because I'm no longer technically your pawn doesn't mean I won't help you and the others anymore.''

''Why do I even bother.'' She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. ''Anyhow whether you can be of help or not depends. Are you willing to go traveling for a couple of days?''

This tidbit made me curious. ''Where to?''

''Paris.''

''Paris?'' I asked in confirmation, thinking I might have misheard her.

''Paris.''

It seemed that wasn't the case, now I was the one rubbing his eyes trying to get my finger around the idea. ''Okay… why would I need to go all the way to Paris?''

''It's about the son of my fathers contracted magician. I met him on a couple of occasions and can tell you that this guy is a real piece of work, and recently he started acting really recklessly on his missions. His father kept trying to contact him over and over again but he kept giving him the cold shoulder and the man is really concerned that his son might be getting himself into something really bad.''

I nodded as I got the basic gist and gestured her to go on. ''The problem is that recently he's been spotted in France and that makes the situation a bit difficult. You see unlike back in Japan, France is a major territory of the holy church and there is no devil territory there so a devil going there even on business matters is incredibly difficult. By the time I would obtain the proper approvals I might just lose any track of the man.''

Well that made sense now that I think about it. Actually maybe since the holy church has so little influence in Japan that devils were able to occupy territory there, but that didn't answer my main question. ''Ok… but if it's that difficult what difference would it make if I went instead.''

''All of those rules and restrictions do not apply to you Shirou, since you are still human.'' She stated clinically, my eyes widening in realization. ''As it stands you are just a random teenager going on a small trip to Paris, as long as you just keep a low profile everything should be fine. ''

I nodded and smiled, it was quite well thought out. ''That part makes sense, but how am I supposed to find this guy in big city like Paris?''

''It's not difficult, his father sent me a tracking spell that will react when you are close to him. All you have to do is go to Paris and walk around until you get a sign of him.''

That was simple enough, so much that even an idiot could do it. ''So what exactly do I have to do when I find him?''

''Nothing difficult, track him down and tell him everything that I will teach you.''

Our discussions went on as Sona gave me the details of the mission. Once she was done we lay down on the grass and relaxed, enjoying the warm rays of the sun. ''Shirou there's one thing that has been bothering me.''

I rolled around in the grass and looked at her. ''What is it?''

''Right at the very end of the fight you just snapped in anger at Segrif, not that I blame you, but it's what you said that confused me. Why did you call him Shinji?''

My eyes could only blink at this. ''I did that?''

''Yes, who is this Shinji?''

''Oh, he is Sakura's brother.'' I answered without a moment's hesitation.

''Sakura?'' she tiled her head confused by who I was talking about.

''You see Sakura is…'' my words died in my mouth.

It was like suddenly reading a paper and then shifting to a new one, only that page was completely blank. So was the sensation in my mind.

Who was Sakura? Why did I suddenly think of her?

No, no, no, wait!

I also don't know of any Shinji! So why did I act like I did, why did I call his name when I snapped at Segrif?!

In my own stated of panic and confusion I didn't notice when Sona got close and started holding me by the shoulders. ''Shirou?''

Her soft and concerned voice was enough to calm me down, my hand reaching for my face and wipe away the cold sweat that run on it. ''I'm f-fine… I must have lost a lot of blood and temporally went delirious.''

I almost winced in pain when I felt Sona's sharp nails dig in my shoulder. ''Shirou, you aren't good at lying, please talk to me.''

Personally I wished I could listen to her, but the facts didn't help me. ''I don't know what to talk about since I'm not sure what is wrong with me.''

Her eyes saddened as she let go and put some distance between us. ''Maybe the whole idea with the mission is a bad idea, you need to rest.''

''No, it's okay, I can go.''

Her eyes narrowed in a sharp glare at this. ''Shirou you can't expect me to send you when you clearly need to rest.''

''Look I said its okay, it doesn't involve any fights or anything dangerous, it's just me going to talk with the man and that's all.''

''Since it's apparent you won't back down lets reach a compromise.'' She stated in her no nonsense student council president tone. ''You will go, but you will leave first thing tomorrow.''

I nodded but I only got confused by this. ''Didn't you say he will be in Paris in a couple of days?''

She threw her hand towards me and started poking me in the chest. ''That's the whole point Shirou, you will go earlier and will use those days for some R&R until he arrives. Use it however you want, visit some museums, go around trying local food, go sightseeing on Eifel Towel all day long, heck go to Moulin Rouge, I don't care, and just use that time to relax you clearly need it.''

There might have been a part of me that wanted to protest since I was basically getting an all-expenses paid vacation while the others were staying behind, but under the icy gaze of the Sitri heiress I realized any further complaints will only complicate things and in all honesty I had dealt with enough shit for one day. ''Fine, I will do as you say.''

I tried to ignore the triumphant smug look she now displayed and went back to my own thoughts, my eyes widening as I realized that I forgot an important piece of information regarding this mission. ''Oh right, I forgot to ask… who am I searching for exactly?''

''His name is Loup Garou.''

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two of them, behind a nearby tree someone was watching the way Shirou and Sona interacted. The distance made it hard to hear what they were talking about but in the end it didn't matter.

A rage was slowly building inside him as he watched, a rage laced with bitterness and self-loathing. He knew nothing was going on between them, but he couldn't keep those dark feelings from eating him up from the inside.

He chewed on his cigarette in frustration, never noticing that his black gauntlet manifested on his arm, the purple eye like gems glowing eerily.

Vritra had witnessed and felt all of this from within his host, and he couldn't help but grow worried for him. _''[Tread carefully other me. Otherwise you might get devoured by your own emotions.]''_

* * *

Ajuka Beelzebub sat in his chair and went over his paper. His feet up high on his desk for all to see, while it was poor manners to do so, it was his desk so he could do whatever he wanted to it.

A glass of rum was present in his hand as he went over the report of the recent incident. His whistling echoing in the room as he finished the last page of the report.

He couldn't help but be impressed by Serafalls work, he hadn't seen her go all out like this since the old days back in the civil war. What she did to Segrif Zepar's manhood in particular was something the doctors that performed the autopsy on him couldn't find words to describe. After seeing a picture of the end result he understood why, it looked like something ripped out of an art book made by that Giger fellow. Oh, how he missed that human's artworks, may he rest in peace.

Now that he was done with everything he gazed at his rum and sighed as it got warm. He wasn't really surprised from it though, his mind has been far too busy to keep track of his glass.

So much that he felt the need to share some of his thoughts with his oldest friend. A magic circle manifested around his ear, shortly the person in question answered his call. ''Sirzechs we need to talk.''

''[Ajuka! Can't you call later I'm really busy right now!]'' Ajuka for one merely sighed as once again he caught his friend in one of his 'moments' judging by his muffled panicked voice.

Unfortunately the green haired man was in no mood for it. ''No, it's very important.''

''[Can't it wait?! I'm at my son's piano recital.]''

Oh, well he couldn't really hold it against the man for wanting to be a good family man, but the situation at hand was far too important to wait. ''… Look I know you love your son, but these are matters of extreme urgency.''

''[Fine! Wait a minute!]'' He huffed in a childlike manner, making Ajuka rub the bridge of his nose. ''[There I'm at the bathroom stall, now make it quick. Some guy was using the urinal and started splashing everywhere when he saw me so I don't want to stay here for long.]''

Not that what Sirzechs said was surprising Ajuka thought, after all it's not every day that a Maou walks in on you when you're taking a piss. ''I just happened to meet Kiritsugu's kid.''

''[That's why you called me for?]'' Ajuka couldn't see it but he was sure Sirzechs was rolling his eyes like a dumbass. ''[So you've met the glum chums son, big deal!]''

Oh, he had no idea how much he wanted to punch the red headed jackass sometimes. ''Tell me something my friend, have you ever wondered why ten years ago, of the things he could have asked you as reward for what he did, he asked for his family to be protected but out of our reach?''

''[Because he loves his family?]'' Sirzechs replied not seeing the point Ajuka was trying to make. ''[He isn't the first or last man that called for the protection of his loved ones in exchange for his services.]''

''That may be the case in general, but I think there's more to it than that, even after ten years I can't say I truly understand how that man's mind works.'' Ajuka stated as he recalled the instances he met with Emiya Kiritsugu, recalling those blank and cold eyes he possessed. ''He may have been protecting his family as he claimed, but perhaps he was also trying to hide something dangerous away from the rest of the world.''

''[What are you getting at? ]'' For the first time since this conversation started, Sirzechs was serious.

Ajuka leaned back in his chair and chugged down his drink, grimacing as he finished. He never liked his rum warm. ''Sirzechs, I think we need to keep a close eye on his son.''

''[Why?]''

In all honesty he didn't have a plausible reason to give his friend, his actual reasoning didn't involve any of the political motives he explained to Shirou earlier it was instead a more personal matter.

It all originated from the feeling he got from the boy.

As it stood it was difficult to put in words, there wasn't any current factor that gave him reason to worry and yet he couldn't shake this nagging feeling he had.

Ajuka Beelzebub was man of science and logic, he didn't let simple instinct drive his judgement. All his life he solved his problems and challenges methodically with his mind.

There was only one single event where his mind was unable to comprehend by logic the intricacies of a man. In his memory there was only one instance where he couldn't grasp the nature of a person at a single glance.

He only experienced this kind of feeling with Sirzechs Gremory, his old friend and the man that would eventually take on the mantle of Lucifer.

The fact that this Emiya Shirou was giving him the same feeling in spite of being just a human only made him more concerned and curious.

''Call it a hunch, but I feel that this Emiya Shirou has the potential to become a powerful ally, but at the same time there's an equal chance he may become a dangerous threat.''

* * *

He gazed at the gears in the sky from atop the hill of blades.

The boy had once again broke through his limits and started tapping more into _his_ powers.

Steel grey eyes drifted at the endless landscape covered in weapons. So many were scattered throughout this world that a normal person could never begin to even count them all, yet he knew each of them, he knew if one was missed or was tampered with. ''That makes another six that he took… plus all the ones that he traced out unconsciously.''

''He's adapting fast… way too fast. At first a single new projection was his limit, but he is becoming more in tune with the power and his mind is becoming more in synch with mine.'' The wrought iron hero's red mantle fluttered in the wind as he stood up and faced toward the horizon. ''During the whole abduction I could barely talk or give him any advice. The way the power was rapidly spiking I could barely keep it under control.''

Hawk like eyes gazed at his hands as they balled into fists. ''Very soon he will catch up to me…''

He realized it… _his_ dream.

This was something Archer was hoping that the boy won't grasp. He felt very conflicted about this sudden turn of events.

On one hand he was intrigued, it was from his personal choice. Shirou didn't inherit it, he came to that conclusion by his own means, something he chose for himself, and not promising to do in _someone else's_ stead.''

However the thing that plagued the red bowman's mind was the cause of that realization.

Did he truly come to that conclusion by his own means?

Or perhaps was it because _his_ influence was slowly affecting the boy's mentality.

Shirou was still 'pure' so to say and the fight with Segrif further proved that to Archer. There was sharpness in his fighting, calculating strikes at vital areas sure, but there wasn't a true cold intent to kill. Shirou fought to _defeat_ but not _kill_ Segrif, so many times he could have ended Segrif Zepar and finished things once and for all, yet in spite of the numerous openings his body constantly fixed itself to avoid it instead choosing to try and incapacitate his enemy.

If it were Archer he would have killed him without a moment of doubt.

He knows how Shirou thinks, no matter how much he detested his enemies deep down he still wishes for an outcome where no one has to suffer or die. If he can help it he won't pull the trigger.

Giving Shahnaz her weapon back was a suicidal act. She could have reversed the fatal blow she was dealt and then proceeded to kill Shirou on the spot or she could have used it when her master lost. There were so many moments when that choice Shirou made could have come back to bite him making him pay for his naivete. It was only by sheer luck and circumstance that the woman came around and betrayed her master.

Shirou was subconsciously resisting the bleeding effect they were going through, but this only raised the question.

How long will it last?

''Agh!'' the red bowman cringed as he grabbed his head.

It was happening again.

They were invading his mind.

The memories of _Emiya Shirou_.

A different _Emiya Shirou_.

He knew they weren't his… he knew he never went through what he saw.

And yet they felt so real.

A loving mother constantly embarrassing him in public with her displays of affection.

 _Not his…_

An aunt that always bickered with his mother but gently smiled at him.

 _Not his…_

A little sister he grew up with that adored him.

 _Not his…_

A little cousin always visiting and grew attached to him.

 _Not his…_

A maid nagging at him whenever she got the chance but was always concerned about him.

 _Not his…_

A lazy maid that always stole his food but offered to "help" him whenever he needed it.

 _Not his…_

His father Kiritsugu was still alive and around for him.

 _Not his…_

It felt like an eternity, but the pain eventually subsided. Leaving the red bowman with a grim expression on his face as he took it all in. ''It's happening faster than I expected… if he keeps up overusing those powers we both will pay for it.''

His vision went static for a few brief moments. It was getting worse.

''At the very least he heeded my warning and didn't attempt a full install.'' Archer muttered as he gazed at the infinite steel landscape. ''Should he install… I fear our individualities will cease to exist.''

* * *

 **Omake: The adventures of the Emiya house**

''Kiritsugu must we really do this?'' Irisviel asked in a pained voice, saddened by her husband's choice regarding her recently adopted son.

Kiritsugu on his part only took a puff from his cigarette while in his mind of steel state, lest he falter in front of his wife without it. ''Yes Iri, it's for Shirou's own good.''

''Iri-san, please let go.'' Shirou on the other hand was trying his best to escape the bear grip of Irisviel who refused to let go of him.

''I don't want to.'' Irisviel pouted as she hugged her son, rubbing her face on his own as if he was some kind of teddy bear.

Kiritsugu for one would have preferred dealing with a high risk assassination mission than dealing with his wife's childish antics. ''Iri we've been over this, Shirou NEEDS to go to school.''

''But I don't want him to leave!'' The Einzbern homunculus protested. ''Besides neither you nor I went to school so why should Shirou go?!''

Well she wasn't particularly wrong, both of them never went to school due to their unique circumstances, but he wanted his children to have a normal life and for that he had to be strong and confront his wife. ''Iri, it will be just for a couple of hours. Education aside, don't you want Shirou to interact with kids his age and have fun?''

The magus killer noticed the subtle moment of weakness in the woman's defenses, seizing the gap it was time for the decisive strike. ''School is very important in the development of children, who knows, if he doesn't go Shirou might just grow up to be a socially inept person and never experience love.''

Irisviel wanted to protest, but she didn't want to be some kind of monster of a mother that ruined her son's future love life. ''… Fine.''

 _Hook, line and sinker._

Shirou could finally breathe again now that he was out of his mother's iron grip, tonight he was going to make Kiritsugu something good to eat as a reward in gratitude.

''Now Shirou be sure to take care of yourself so Iri here doesn't get worried.'' Kiritsugu said as he ruffled the boy's hair, keeping a perfect poker face considering that Irisviel just elbowed him in the ribs. _Hard._

''Please be careful sweetie!'' Irisviel shouted as she watched her son walk into the school ground.

* * *

The first day of school went pretty easy for Shirou. He got along with most of his classmates, but he heard some weird rumors from the one of the others classes. Something about a kid obsessed with boobs or something and he was very vocal about it as if he was spreading the word of a new gospel.

When he walked out of the school gate he couldn't find any trace of his mother even though she was supposed to be there to pick him up. ''I wonder where Iri-san is?''

''MY BABY BOY!'' He heard a banshee like scream and saw a white blur before he was put under a world of pain that were Irisviel's hugs. ''I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! MAMA WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU AGAIN!''

To his own abysmal luck this display was noticed by quite the number of students from his school. As one can expect the rumors immediately spread like wild fire.

For years to come Emiya Shirou was condemned to enduring the heavy title of 'Mama's boy'.

* * *

 **Author notes:**

Well I'm back. Hope you all had a good winter vacation, I know I had.

And with this we have officially ended the Zepar arc and are starting a brand new one. To hype it a little besides Loup Garou that was mentioned three other canon characters will be involved, two as side characters, while the third one as a main. And they're all fine ladies. To give a little clue, one has confidence issues, one is a rather hated character, while the last is related to the church. Good luck guessing who will appear.

I tried to tie all lose ends in this chapter and hope that nothing was omitted so I apologize if it feel a bit packed.

Now about Shirou still being human. As you all noticed he has Avalon inside of him, so this will make things easy, that thing is HAX! So much that even Gil would yell HAX out of frustration. One may argue that since Shirou is not Saber he can't call forth its full potential but I for one believe that even by itself it's working enough to protect him from getting demonized.

Before you go and rage at me that this thing is completely out of the blue, it isn't. I have been dropping clues and signs all over the place, and have been planning this for a long time, hell even Sona directly remarked in the first chapters that she wasn't sure if Shirou was fully converted in a devil.

Other stuff, I hope I managed to give Ajuka a good characterization, I mean he didn't really have more casual scene in the LN, so it was kind hard to pin point his personality. I tried highlighting the mad scientist vibes from him and make him more easygoing. He may seem a bit too easy going in some scenes but remember that this guy is Sirzechs BFF and puts up with his BS on a basis. I mean you don't dress up as a Satan Ranger unless you're pretty wacky yourself.

Bad news is that I'm entering exam session so it will probably take longer for next chapter to get out.

In FGO news I still have E-rank in the gacha. I failed all the banners, no Quetz, Merlin, Musashi, Gramps or Dantes. Out of salt I went and used two grails on my boy Rama (crits for life). The only 5 stars I have are Shuten, which I got back in November, and in all honestly I have no clue how I got her since I was rolling for Ozy. Not that I'm complaining about her but I'm still wonder how that happened. Also got Karna yesterday… spent 25 tickets on the all-male banner… got only Karna, and not one valentines CE's. Again not that I'm complaining but you would think it's only fair that once every 10 wasted tickets you should get a good a 5 star drop (even CE's work, I'm just saying…)

I won't even bother with MHX Alter, saving for the Shinjuku release, need an gold Archer.

The Solomon chapter I failed to grind the way I wanted. I mean I was like 'Oh the pillars are finally out, but it's kinda late so I will play tomorrow.' Next day Barbatos was fully killed… and I needed THOSE PAGES DAMMIT!

And for some reason the game is giving me an error whenever I'm trying to buy saint quarts. That being said I couldn't use the guaranteed paid banner at New Year's… and I really needed a gold archer. Question if anyone is aware, if the money you have in your bank account is a different currency does it work to buy quarts with it? Or should I make another account like a one and convert my money to dollars.

Now anything else that I should mention… Oh yeah just turned 24 today… yeah, that a thing apparently…

* * *

 **Don't forget to review... no seriously review, I could use some constructive criticism.**


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